We Named The Monkey Jack
by freddykre
Summary: Right after DMC, they need to find Jack and get him Back. Tia gives them someone else to help, also. Rated M to be on the safe side, and future chapters, I guess. Um pairings are JE and BOC. Yes, I said it, BARBOSSA. He has a hot voice, you must admit.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first PotC fanfic, so if you do flame, please do it for the right reasons, and not just to flame. So, yes I'm encouraging you to review. This is totally not what I think is gonna happen in the third one, I'm just having fun. Oh yeah, I don't own anything, blah blah blah, don't sue me.**

CHAPTER 1

"So tell me, what has become of my ship?" He took a bite of a green apple, finally enjoying the taste, the feel.

Will stepped back a few feet. "You're dead."

Barbossa laughed, "_Was_ dead. Was being the operative word there, Turner. But now, I am very much alive." He took another bite of his apple before raising his arm to let Jack—the monkey Jack, not the man—grab it. Jack took a few tiny bites. He then dropped in back into the hands of Barbossa, who took another big bite. The rest of the crew grimaced slightly at the sight.

"Him," Elizabeth said, breaking the silence. "He's going to get Jack back, the same man who formed a mutiny, and marooned him on a island. Twice."

"Beggers can't be choosers, miss. Besides, he seemed to have a fine time getting off the island." He smiled looking directly at Elizabeth. "Twice."

Elizabeth sat back down on the desk where she had been, folding her arms across her chest.

Will walked towards Tia Dalma. "How do you expect us to go along with this?" He glanced over a Barbossa, who was again eating the apple. "How do you expect us to trust him?"

"Did ya not say you would travel to da ends of da eart?" Tia walked closer to Will.

Will dropped his head down. "Aye."

Tia nodded. "So ya did. So what are you whining about?" Will was silent.

"And what are we waiting for? Have we got a ship, Tia?" Tia pointed towards the ocean, and the crew, followed by Barbosaa, started to walk out.

"Wait!" Tia yelled before they could leave.

Barbossa rolled his before slowly turning to face the mystic woman. "What?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"You will need to find a girl, and bring her along. She will help you to find Jack—"

"We already _know_ where Jack is," Elizabeth said, interrupting Tia Dalma. "We just need to know how to get him _out_ of there."

Tia stuck her pointer finger out at Elizabeth shaking it up and down. "She will help you to find Jack Sparrow."

"And where might she be?" Barbossa asked as unenthusiastically as before.

Tia smiled. "Tortuga."

X+X+X+X+X+X

As the crew got close to Tortuga Will walked up to Barbossa at the helm. "What did Tia say her name was?"

Babossa rolled his eyes, looking at the open sea. "Azalea"

"Well you can't just expect me to effortlessly remember it. You have to admit, it's a bit strange."

Again Barbossa rolled his eyes as he got ready to port. He barked orders to the rest of the crew, and almost as soon as he left the dock he found who he was looking for. Tia had only given a brief description of the girl, but it was enough. She had to be the only woman in Tortuga who wasn't wearing a big, bulbous dress. She was wearing pants that only went down to her ankles, and looked like they were filled with air. They were brown, but on the verge of looking black from all of the mud. She had an oversized white button-up shirt, and yes, she had a big hat. She had long blonde hair that looked surprisingly clean and brushed compared to the rest of her. Her blue eyes were piercing, and if you looked for too long you could drown in the color. Plus she seemed to be the only one not basking in the festivities. She was sitting quietly on a bench, and wouldn't flinch when bottles of rum hit the wall next to her, or someone was thrown past her.

Barbossa approached her. "Azalea?"

She seemed unmoved as the spaced closed in between them. She raised her eyebrows, which he took as a yes.

"Tia has informed us," he looked in the direction of his crew, "You may be able to help us find someone."

Azalea looked at his wardrobe before smiling. "You're pirates?" She glanced at the crew and glanced back. With no answer from him she stood up. "Well, lets go." She walked towards the ship not knowing if the nameless man was following, and not entirely caring. It wasn't until she reached the dock could she hear him following. Once she boarded she turned to face him. "So, who are we looking for? Oh, and who are you?"

"Captain Barbossa, and this be my crew." He waved his arms at the rest of the people.

Elizabeth walked up to him. "I don't, nor will I ever belong to you."

"Ahh, miss Swann, so nice to see you. You can leave now, go over there." She glared at him, but he just waved his hand. "Shoo."

As Elizabeth walked away, Azalea smiled at her new Captain. "She seems nice. So, do I get to know who I'm finding?"

"Jack Sparrow."

"The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"Sure, I suppose you could call him that too. Mr. Gibbs!" He shouted in no general direction. A man came running up to the Captain. Barbossa turned back to the young girl. "Mr. Gibbs and I are going to restock. Why don't ye meet the rest of the crew?" Without an answer he left the ship along with Mr. Gibbs.

Azalea made her way to the lower deck where she found what she assumed was the crew. A tall skinny man jumped up to greet her.

"Nice to meet ya, miss. I'm Ragetti."

A shorter squat man pushed him aside. "She doesn't want to talk to you," he said in a harsh voice. His voice softened when he turned to her. "I'm Pintel."

"…Hi." She turned to the three others seeing Miss Swann was one of them. She was the first of the three to talk.

"Elizabeth," she said putting a hand on her own chest. "This is Will," she pointed to a younger man, "and Cotton," and an older one.

Azalea smiled at them. She waited for them to say something but they didn't. "I'm Azalea."

"We know," Will said quickly.

"OK, just making sure…bye." She walked back to the top deck waiting for Gibbs and Barbossa to return. When they did she got up to meet them. "Can we go?"

"What're you in such a hurry for, miss?" Barbossa asked popping the cap off of his rum.

"The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

"It's not as simple as that."

She leaned in close to him. "I intend to make it." She took the rim from his hand and took a swig. She gave Jack a quick scratch on the chin before walking off, no direction in mind. Even so, she wound up in the captain's quarters. She found the extensive maps on the big oak desk, and couldn't help but run her fingers along the boundaries on the maps.

"Exploring the ship, Aye?"

The deep voice made her jump. She wondered how long he's been standing there. Long enough, no doubt.

"Have a thing for maps, huh?"

She smiled. "I don't know. Have a thing for monkeys?" Jack let out a small shriek before jumping off Barbossa's shoulder and on to Azalea's? "Hmm, he likes me." He grabbed the rum and ran back to Barbossa.

"No. Thank you Jack."

She glared at the monkey. "Fine, I don't like him either." She walked up to Barbossa, leaning even closer this time. "I suggest you get him a leash." She snatched the rum, and walked away from the shrieking monkey.

As she reached the helm she saw Will and Elizabeth talking.

"Um, excuse me, but aren't you supposed to be finding Jack?"

She looked away from Will and towards the ocean. She bit the nails on one hand and with the other pointed towards the Captains quarters. "He's with Barbossa."

"What?" Elizabeth asked, looking dumbstruck.

Will shook his head. "No, Jack the man you're supposed to find, not the monkey."

Azalea slowly turned her head with her thumbnail in her mouth. "Oh, yeah. What does he look like?"

Elizabeth laughed. "What, are you going to put up missing posters or something? God, every obstacle possible, and we get it on our ship."

"Look, I don't know much about what's going on, but I'm guessing that this isn't either of yours ship, and I'm guessing without Barbossa you'd be pretty lost, same without me. And finally, I'm guessing you didn't do much to stop whatever happened to Jack."

Elizabeth bit her lip and walked to the nearest steps to sit down.

Azalea turned to Will. "What does he look like?"

"Um…well he has black hair. It's long, and it has random things sticking out of it. And he's got this red headband…and a hat. Then he has, like a million layers of clothes, and necklaces, and jewelry. Pirate stuff."

"Hmm, very descriptive. Anyway, I think that's enough. OK, now…quiet."

A second after she said that Barbossa approached the helm. He shoved will aside and just used it to lean against. "How's it going, any progress? Or are you scum buckets just lazing about?" Will and Elizabeth quickly walked to the posts they were supposed to be at. Azalea was again unmoved.

"Shut up. Sit, I need to concentrate." Barbossa rolled his eyes and sat down on the steps where she had planted herself. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hand. Again, Barbossa rolled his eyes. Subconsciously he was beginning to wonder if he was doing that too much. Before he could put much thought in the matter, Azalea spoke. "The Kraken?" She opened her eyes and faced him. She smiled, "Davy Jones? That's who we're dealing with?"

"Aye."

"Do we know where the heart is?"

He smiled. "The rest of them seem to thing Davy Jones has it back."

"Ha, I doubt that." She closed her eyes, and before long let out a short laugh. "No heart. He has the chest, but he has no heart." She let out a longer laugh. "He looked like he was gonna cry. Ha, I love when seemingly evil creatures cry." Barbossa gave her a cross look. "Okay." She closed her eyes. It took longer again, but when she opened her eyes, she seemed sure enough. "James Norrington." Barbossa gave her another look, not sure why she had a small smile on her face. "And old friend, really. I'll get the heart."

Will and Elizabeth appeared from out of nowhere, obviously they'd been listening in. "How will that help?" Elizabeth asked, practically screaming at her. "He's _inside _the Kraken, he's probably dead."

"You really are a morbid thinker." Azalea smiled, seeing no one else was. "Look, if we control the heart, we control Davy Jones _and_ the Kraken. I know you have no faith in me, but that's your fault. He's not dead, but if we wait too long he will be. And that's gonna be a bit trickier."

"Where can we find James Norrington?"

"Port Royale."

Elizabeth was still for a moment, but then began barking orders at the crew. Will walked away behind her, leaving Barbossa and Azalea alone.

"She wants jack," he said elongating the A's, making Elizabeth's feelings for Jack sound even more forbidden.

"But I thought she and Will—"

"They are."

She faced Barbossa and smiled. "This is gonna be fun."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Once they got close enough to Port Royale they sent Azalea on a short boat. She saw James Norrington before she left the boat, and ran up to him.

"Hello James. Jim. Jimmy."

He rolled his eyes, "Commodore."

"Again? Nice. Well, that was great catching up. You have something I want."

"I don't have it."

"Ah, but you don't know what it is yet."

"The heart? Davy Jones' heart? Yes, I gave it away." He adjusted his wig. "Part of the deal. A barter, if you will."

"OK, so who has it?"

He smiled inwardly, "Like I'm going to tell you."

He began to walk away, but Azalea caught up and ran in front of him. "Who has it?" She stared directly at him, right in his eyes.

He looked away first, and she knew she had won. "Lord Cutler Beckett. He has it, and he won't be so quick to give it away."

"OK, so you have to help."

"I have to do nothing of the sort."

She came up with a lie quickly and put on her best vulnerable face. "Look, there is a ship full of angry people over there, and if I don't come back with Davy Jones' heart…they'll kill me." Using all her energy she got a stray tear to fall down her cheek. She knew he was a softie, especially to her.

"I'm not giving up my title."

"You don't have to, you just have to…distract him. And take off that stupid wig." She grabbed it off his head and threw it in the water. He made the strangle gesture, and shook his hands. Azalea just smiled and took his hand. Soon he realized he was taking her to one of his ships. He stopped her.

"You plan for us to…" He dropped his voice down just below a whisper. "You plan for us to plot against Lord Beckett in his own ship?"

"Ah, in _your_ quarters." She took his hand again and kept walking. As the reached the ideal ship, the watchman stood up straight.

"Commodore." He looked down at the young woman (looking rather untidy) holding his hand. "Um…miss." He gave her a nod and stepped aside fore them.

Realizing what the watchman must think, the commodore turned around and slightly shook his head. He turned back around when his arm was tugged harder.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Barbossa stared through his looking glass as Azalea pulled the commodore inside a ship. Once they disappeared inside Barbossa shut the telescope, anger boiling in his head. All of the sudden he felt very defensive of her, and he couldn't tell why. He just knew that if the Commodore touched her, he'd pay.

**Ohhhhh, what's gonna happen next. I know you're all wondering, right? Well, I live on reviews, and if I don't get enough I could have heart failure. Toodles.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I spelled Port Royal wrong last time, I'm very intelligent. And thanks for the reviews. Disclaimer's same as last time.**

CHAPTER 2

Azalea picked up the ball sitting on Commodore's desk and started to toss it back and forth in her hands. He snatched it away. "That's crystal." He turned to put it away and she made a mimicking face at him. "OK, now what do you suggest we do?"

"OK, like I said, you just have to distract him. Like, say 'Lord Beckett, I think there might be pirates near by.' And at that point I'm in his office finding the heart."

"Yeah, about that. If they're threatening your life, and we've dealt with pirates before, why don't we just take care of them, and you won't have to steal the heart."

"Um…you can't kill them, they're undead." _Oh, nice one, he'll really believe that._

"Again?"

"Well, yeah…look, this is just something I have to do. And you need to help me. You always helped me before, remember?"

"I haven't seen you in almost a year. The first thing you do when you see me is ask for help?"

"Well the not seeing you part's not entirely my fault. After you resigned, I left. I guess help is just what brought us together. And I'm okay with that."

"OK, well why did you leave? I'm sure whoever took my place would have let you stay."

"You can _not_ blame me for that. You left too. And I may have been a good maid, or whatever, but I was nowhere near presentable for anyone who didn't know me. I'm 16, both my parents are dead, I don't own another pair of clothes, let alone a dress. I highly doubt that anyone in their right mind would keep me."

"I did."

She smiled. "I know. But I'm sure the only reason is because you felt obligated. I mean, I was ten when I came to you for a job, and then it was just me and my father, and he sure wasn't going to work. So, yes you did a good dead, a really, really good dead. Will you help me again?"

"Fine. I just have to distract him?"

"Yep. Him and his guards, you have to make sure no one will be there to find me. And this might be the last time I see you for a while, so…" The both got up and hugged. It lasted for a few seconds, before Azalea let go, holding back tears. "Lets go."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"She shouldn't have gone alone." She had been gone for not 10 minutes, but already Barbossa was worrying.

"And who would you assume go with her?" Will asked. "Elizabeth and I are wanted for a hanging, and everyone else on this ship would get one look, before being thrown in jail. Why do you care anyway, aren't you known for not caring or something?"

"Did I ask you anything? In fact, I don't believe I even addressed you. Go pull a rope or something."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Commodore Norrington, didn't I dismiss you moments ago?"

The Commodore smiled, forcing himself not to comment on Lord Beckett's estimate of an hour. "I believe there is some Pirate activity near the port. As lord I would see it necessary for you to assist my inspection. What with the recent trouble and all." Lord Beckett stood up, signaling the Commodore to lead him. As they walked out of the Lord's office, Commodore noticed two guards standing outside. "I don't mean to be rude, but if the pirates do decide to attack, don't you think it would be a good idea to bring your guards along?" Lord Beckett waved his hands and two loyal guards came stampeding behind him.

Azalea saw the two leave the building, followed by two guards, and once she was sure she wouldn't be seen, she ran inside. The door was locked, but she had no trouble picking it with a knife. Once inside she closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound of a beating heart. Soon the sound got louder and she followed it around the room. Finally she came to a drawer. It too was locked, and was easy to break into. Once she opened it, though, she saw nothing but a wig. _OK, it's a fancy wig, but does he really have to lock the drawer?_ She was about to move down to the next one, when the obvious slipped into her brain. She picked up the wig, and sure enough, there was a bag that moved with every beat. She picked up the bag and peaked inside, just to make sure. Once it was confirmed she quietly ran out of the office. She tucked the bag in her shirt, and the moment she left the building she saw Commodore Norrington and Lord Beckett talking.

"I apologize, sir, I could have sworn it was a pirate ship."

"Well the next time your imagination goes on a rampage, leave me out of it."

Before Lord Beckett could spot her, Azalea started picking up objects and yelling out prices like the mad next to her. As soon as Lord Beckett was well inside, she walked towards the Commodore. The smiled softly at each other before heading towards the dock. The Commodore helped Azalea into her boat, and untied it for her. "So, um, thanks."

He smiled. "It's no problem. Don't disappear, okay?"

She smiled and rowed back to the ship.

The first person to talk to her when she got on the ship was Elizabeth. "Did you get the heart?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I don't find that amusing."

"I do." Elizabeth's expression didn't change so Azalea pulled the heart out of her shirt.

"You got it!" Elizabeth grabbed the heart from her hands. Then under her breath, "I guess you are good from something."

Thinking she couldn't hear her, Elizabeth was surprised to hear Azalea retort. "I believe it was you who thought the heart was in the hands of good Old Davy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must bask in my glory. Before she could reach her destination Ragetti appeared in front of her.

"'Scuse me, miss, but I can't seem to remember your name."

She smiled, "Azalea. But, you can call me Lea. Tell the crew, spread it around, I have to go." Once she reached the Captain's quarters she let herself in. Barbossa looked up from his maps. "I got the heart."

Barbossa looked her up and down. "Where is it?"

"Elizabeth took it."

"Aye, she's the one who cares."

Azalea stifled a laugh. "Oh, new, my new name is Lea, cause no one can remember Azalea."

"How'd you get the heart?"

"Well, James and me are old friends, I guess. And he helped me get it back from Beckett."

"Old friends, _you guess_? Why do you say that, was it a certain kind of friendliness?"

"No, he helped me put when my parents died, and so now he's my friend I guess."

"But see, you must be leaving something out, because guys like him don't just do favors."

"What's wrong with you?"

He got out of his chair and walked to the opposite side of his desk, getting right in her face. "Don't try to play innocent, I saw you walk in that ship with him."

She pushed him away from her. "Fuck off!"

He grabbed her arm, her seemingly unflinching coolness gone. "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." He pushed her against the big oak desk, and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. "Means no." She felt the pressure of his lips on hers, his rough and hers soft. She closed her eyes, and put her hands by her side. He planted hard kisses on her jaw, and down her neck. He let go of her arm and ran his hands under her shirt, and up her stomach. There was a knock on the door and the two pulled apart instantly.

"She got the heart, are we going to leave soon?" Barbossa opened the door and pushed past Will towards the helm. Will looked in and saw Azalea breathing heavily. It took him a minute to put the pieces together, but once he did he walked away with a grimace on his face.

Azalea went to her Cabin, assuming no one needed her. The second her head hit the pillow she fell asleep.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea woke up some time later to the sound of arguing. "I saw you kiss him!"

"Will, I've told you, I just did it so I could help _us_."

"Elizabeth, I saw your face afterward. You _wanted_ to do it. Plus, I've seen the way you've looked at him."

Azalea walked out of her cabin rubbing her eyes. The fighting couple looked at her, telling her to leave with their eyes. She walked up to the top deck to see it was nighttime. She saw Barbossa at the helm and walked up to him. She yawned, "Hey. So, we have a heading?"

"Tia Dalma. She'll help us find Davy Jones."

"Um, I've kind of got the finding thing covered."

He smiled sardonically, "You can see where things are, but you don't exactly get a direction, do you? Or name?"

"I can try." She closed her eyes, and moments later she opened them. "Nope, just water. So…" she said taking a step towards him. He put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "What?"

"How old are you?"

"16."

"See, that there's enough of an answer."

She rolled her eyes. "I know younger girls who've slept with older guys."

"I'm sure you do, but that's not what's going to happen here.

She was silent for a moment. "Fine." She walked away leaving Barbossa alone at the helm. When Azalea arrived in her cabin she found Elizabeth there.

She stood up, "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be back any time soon. I'll leave."

"It's fine, sit. Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah that was just a little fight." Elizabeth tried to stop it, but ended up crying. Azalea uncomfortably sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I love him, he has to know that. It's just, my feelings for Jack won't go away. At first I tried to ignore them, but when we kissed…they grew stronger. A lot stronger. But, lets get off the subject. So, I heard you and Barbossa…?"

"It's nothing."

"Oh, come on. I saw you two flirting."

"Really, it's nothing. I know he's known as this evil guy, or whatever, but I guess not evil enough…to have anything go anywhere with a sixteen year-old."

Elizabeth's smile faded, realizing that Azalea wanted it to go somewhere. "Well, maybe he'll open up to the idea, eventually."

Azalea smiled. "I doubt that, but thanks." Azalea then got up to wonder around the ship.

Over the next few days the crew went to visit Tia Dalma to get the location of Davy Jones. On the way to the Flying Dutchman Azalea got to know the rest of crew better, and know everyone called her Lea. All except Barbossa, who had said he'd like to remain formal. Those were the only words he said to her, that wasn't an order, since the night at the helm. Then the day came that they reached the Flying Dutchman. Barbossa decided he would get Jack Back from the Kraken.

"Why are you going?" Will asked him.

"I'm the Captain of the ship, I have the Captain's duties."

"How do I know you're not just going to make some completely different trade?"

"I'll go with him." Azalea stood closer to Barbossa, but still keeping a few feet between them. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything."

"OK," Will said, "but make sure you get my father back too."

Azalea nodded and followed Babossa into the boat. Surprisingly, when she got to the bottom, he offered his hand. She took it, pretending to notice how long they remained like that. They rowed over to the Flying Dutchman, noticing Davy Jones notice them. Azalea swallowed hard. Davy Jones met them on the ship. "What have you come for?"

"We have something you want, in return you give us what we want." Barbossa pulled the heart out of one of his many pockets inside his jacket.

Davy Jones' eyes widened before going back to his intimidating stance. "And what is it you want in return?"

"Jack Sparrow." Azalea elbowed him hard in the arm. "And Bill Turner."

Davy Jones smiled. "Jack Sparrow's dead."

Barbossa elbowed Azalea back, and she closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them. "No he's not."

"So, do we have a trade?"

"OK…but I get her too." He nodded his head in Azalea's direction.

"Ah, Mr. Jones, I don't know if you realize how easily I could squeeze this heart beyond recognition." He tightened his grip on the heart. Davy Jones flinched forward. "OK. Now get the thing to Spit Jack back up, give him to us, and give us Bill Turner.

Davy Jones glared at them and made his way down to the bottom of the ship. On the way he shouted, "Mr. Turner, get over there!" A few moments later Bill appeared, looking confused.

"I'm Azalea, this is Captain Barbossa. Will sent us to get you." The man smiled and stood next to Azalea. A few minutes later Davy Jones came up and shouted at his crew. They complied by running to what looked like an oversized horizontal steering wheel. The more they spun it around, the higher a big post raised in it, until finally it slammed down, along with a big vibration. Soon a humongous creature with tentacles arose from the water. There was a strong wind as it spit out some nasty mucus, but then finally Jack flew out. He wasn't breathing.

Barbossa turned to Azalea. "Do you know how to do that?" he asked referring to reviving him.

She groaned, "Yes…" She walked over to the mucus-covered man and put her ear to his chest. His heart was beating, that was a good start. She put air in his lungs, and pushed on his chest. After a few times he finally rolled to the side, spitting up tons of mucus.

"Eeeiicck. Who are you?" Azalea rolled her eyes and stood back by Barbossa, their proximity not an issue at the time. "Why is he here? _How_ is he here?" he asked pointing at Barbossa, still lying on the ground.

Barbossa smiled. "Hello, Jack."

**Ohhh, that was a cliffhanger, not really, just the middle of a scene. Woo! Review so I won't die.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahhh, the reviews are awesome! You guys are my best friends fake cries. Same diclaimer. And sorry it took so long to update, I'm lazy. And I'm working on five other stories, so you can kinda see my problem.**

CHAPTER 3

"Hello Jack." He walked over to the still lying Jack, and pulled him up by his shirt.

"OK, that was really unnecessary, you see I have two perfectly useful hands." He held up one hand, "One here," then the other, "and one here. See, I'm all set."

Davy Jones pushed past him. "So, we have a deal, give me the heart."

Barbossa was about to hand over the heart when Azalea pulled his hand back. "What are you doing? We're not done here." Davy Jones gave her a blank look. "You have to let us off this ship, and when we're off, you can't hurt us or our crew. You can't use your crew, or the Kraken, or anything."

Davy smiled, "That was not the deal."

"Yes well we still have the heart, so you're not really in the place to talk right now, are you?" He was silent. "So we have a deal?" He held out one if his slimy tentacles. Slowly and cautiously Azalea took it in her hand. They shook, and he drew back, leaving a layer of slime on Azalea's hand.

"The heart?" Barbossa again reached out his hand to give the heart to Davy Jones. This time Azalea let him do it. Davy Jones took the heart and passed it back to the creature behind him. The four of them stood together, waiting for something to happen. It didn't. "Go!" Jack and Azalea flinched back. Barbossa pushed Jack to the side of the ship, so he could climb down to the small boat.

As the crew was rowing back to their ship, Azalea kept looking back at the Flying Dutchman. "He's not going to do anything." Azalea kept staring at the Flying Dutchman. Barobossa took her chin in his hand and turned her head towards him. "You made a deal with him, he's not going to do anything." Azalea bit her lip and sat back.

"You know, I don't blame her for being like that, mate. I don't much like that man."

"Did I mention how great it is to have you back, Jack?"

"It was implied. So, how's my crew?"

"It's not your crew, Jack, it's my crew."

"It was my crew first, you took them."

"Stop fighting! God, you two sound like bickering 5 year-olds."

The two looked down at their hands. "Sorry."

"You should be."

Jack stuck out his tongue. "Who are you anyway?" he asked, her seeming somehow familiar.

She stuck out her tongue back at him. "Azalea." Jack was about to comment before she interrupted him. "Lea. You can just call me Lea." Barbossa watched the two of them talk, sensing something, yet he didn't know what it was.

When they got back to the ship Gibbs, Cotton, Ragetti, and Pintel pulled them up. Will met his father on the deck. "I told you I'd come back for you." Bill patted him on the shoulder before embracing in a man-hug (yes, there is a difference).

Elizabeth was biting her nails, watching the two when Jack walked up behind her. He put his hands on her shoulder. "Miss me?"

Startled, Elizabeth jumped, and turned around. "Jack…I'm so sorry."

He smiled. "That's OK. I got my hat back. And I must say, you are turning more and more into a pirate every day."

She smiled and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're OK." Jack kept his arms out, a little surprised. She let go of him.

He looked down at her. "Of course I'm OK. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." At that moment, Jack—the monkey—swooped down and took Jack's hat. "Ugh, I just got that back." Gibbs happened to be near by, so Jack grabbed the gun from his holster, and shot the undead monkey. It dropped the hat with a shriek, and ran to Barbossa's shoulder.

Azalea flinched as the monkey ran past her. "I hate that thing." The monkey shrieked at her, before jumping off Barbossa's shoulder to random parts of the ship. Barbossa smiled at her before walking to the helm, where Jack was now standing.

He pushed Jack aside and took hold of the wheel. "Ah, nice and warm. Thank you, Jack."

"Not a problem," Jack said loud and cheerfully. And then under his breath, "First mate Barbossa."

Barbossa gave him an amused smile. "I just saved your life, Jack. I could just as easily change your fortune."

Jack backed off with a scowling smile.

Elizabeth took Jack by the arm. "Jack, I need to talk to you." He followed behind her, already knowing what she wanted to talk about.

Azalea and Barbossa, now the only two on the top deck, shared a knowing glance before going their separate ways.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Elizabeth sat on the bed in Azalea's cabin. They looked like an awkward teenage couple. "Listen, Jack. About the kiss—"

"I know, it was just a way to get me to stay on the ship. And you love Will, and I will never, ever be in the picture."

"Well, that's the thing. I love Will. I know I do. It's just…I don't think that was the only reason I kissed you."

Jack smiled. "What are saying, luv?" Elizabeth turned to him, speaking with her eyes. Jack leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was filled with so much emotion, somehow more than any kiss she's ever shared with Will. Jack put his hand behind her head, pulling her up. She put her hands on the back of his head pulling him down. She used all of her weight, and eventually she won, pulling him on top of her. She took his hat off, setting it on the table next to them. Before long Elizabeth had to stop them, because his pistol was digging into her hip. He quickly took his belt off and continued. But again, before long something else happened. His rings got stuck in her hair, and hey had to sit up and yank a lot to get it untangled.

"Look Jack, this isn't right."

"I know, you and Will are in love, or some…rubbish." He gathered up his things from the table, putting his hat and belt back on.

Elizabeth giggled a bit at Jack's dismay. "Well, that too. But I mean because this is Lea's cabin. Her bed. And she might want to get some sleep sometime."

"Fine. I'll see ya, luv." He walked out of the cabin leaving Elizabeth with her thoughts, of which there were many. About Jack, about Will, even about retuning home, a place where she hadn't been for the longest time.

X+X+X+X+X+X

There was a knock on Barbossa's door. "I'm busy."

The door opened and Azalea stepped in. "I just have to ask you a question." He looked up at her. She took it as a sign and continued. "What's your first name?" Barbossa sighed and rolled his eyes. "Please, I really want to know, I'll never ask you anything ever again. Or at least for a while." She put on her puppy-dog eyes, and pleaded.

"Fine. It's Hector." Azalea held back a smile, and stifled a laughed. She expected something a little more rugged, or piratey. "You see now why I keep it down to Barbossa?"

"Yeah. OK. Well, bye." She turned around and began to walk out of the door.

"What's your last name?"

She stepped back in the room shut the door and. "What?"

"You asked me my first name, it's only fair I get to ask you your last name."

"It's um…it's Sparrow. I'm Azalea Sparrow."

He smiled to himself as she walked out. _I wonder if dear old Jack knows._

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea found Jack wondering around the ship. "Jack! Uh, hi. Uh…"

"We didn't do anything in your cabin, luv, it's OK."

"What? Uh, no. Um…I was wondering, do you remember your father?"

He smiled. "Do I _remember_ him? How much rum do you think I drink, luv?"

She ran her fingers through her knotted hair uncomfortably. "Right. Well, um. He's kinda my father…too."

"Reeally?" She nodded, still uncomfortable. "So you're saying I'm your big brother?"

"I think. I mean, yeah. You are. Sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Well, I just kind of sprung it on you. Well, not that there's really anything to spring on you, I mean, there's no responsibility with the title, or anything, it's just—"

"Lea, right?" She nodded. "I think blowing this way out of proportion. Yes, it's a bit strange, especially meeting like this for the first time. But you seem to care a lot more. Go lay down or something." He turned on his heel and walked away.

Azalea walked into her cabin, noticing the rustled sheets._ OK, what did he mean by _anything_ and exactly how truthful was he being when he said _didn't She shrugged the question off, and laid down on the bed, rubbing her eyes. She quickly fell asleep, only to be awoken what seemed like seconds later.

Barbossa pulled her off the bed and in scooted her in the direction of the door. "Move, there's a naval ship following us."

"What, how?"

"Apparently your old friend James Norrington isn't so friendly after all."

"No, he wouldn't tell them. He's a good man."

Barbossa let out a short laugh. "He's about just as good of a man as me."

She ran up to the top deck to the back of the boat. She grabbed the looking glass out of Gibbs' hands and without question he went off to another duty. Azalea searched around the naval ship until the sight came to James Norrington. He was the only still person on the ship, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He had an expressionless look on his face so she couldn't read him. Barbossa stood up beside her and she tried to ignore him the best she could.

"He was bound to turn on you." She stayed silent. "He finally got his title back. People like him don't ruin that opportunity for a girl."

She finally turned to him, and stray tear rolling down her face. "I just didn't think he was one of those people. He never seemed like it."

Barbossa had always hated the Commodore, but the hate was even stronger now. He hated what he was doing to Azalea, that she would shed tears for him. He walked up to Will at the helm. "Turn about, we're gonna attack."

Will nodded, and spun the wheel. Azalea came running up and tried to grab the wheel. "We can't attack!" Will brushed her off easily, but she jumped back on the wheel. "Stop it, turn around! Go the other way!"

Will turned to Barbossa. "Will you get her off of me?"

Barbossa came over and easily lifted Azalea up. He carried her away from the helm, while she kicked and struggled. He set her down on a chair and held her shoulders, while she huffed and held a death grip on the chair. "He had to do this, so we have to fight back. That's just how it works."

She remembered the last conversation she had with him. _…If I don't come back with Davy Jones' heart…they'll kill me._ She tried to spring up from the seat but Barbossa's grip was too tight. "He didn't turn on me," she said struggling to get away from him. He didn't let go, and didn't listen to what she was saying. "He'll be overly prepared for battle, and we'll have way less men. We have to just outrun them."

"How would you know how prepared he would be?"

"I just told you. He didn't turn on me; he's trying to save me. He thinks I'm on this ship against my will." She finally got out of his grip and stood up, rubbing her arms. "And I'm beginning to wonder myself." She ran over to Will at the helm. "Don't attack, we need to outrun them. They have more men and gunpowder."

Assuming she knew because she had seen it in her mind, or something, he complied without question.

Jack came from out of nowhere. "Why aren't we fighting? That man annoys me."

"They have us out-numbered," Will said steering the huge ship. "This is our only option. Now help with the sales." Jack walked over to some ropes and started pulling, knowing exactly what he was doing. Azalea followed, way less educated. She watched for a moment, before finding a rope that looked like the right one, untying it, and pulled it as hard as she could. She jerked back, and then was flung forward. She tried dragging her feet to stop it, but it didn't help. She finally stopped when Cotton, Gibbs, and Barbossa all grabbed on to the rope. They pulled it back and tied it back up.

Azalea still lay on the deck, hands red and almost bleeding. Barbossa pulled her up by her arm. "Why'd you go and do that?"

"I was trying to help."

"Yeah, a lot of help that did."

Azalea blew cool air on her hands. "Sorry, I'm new at this. Lay off."

"If you want to help, go fix the crew something to eat. It's been a while since we've had a meal."

"I'm not a good cook."

"You should be, you're a woman."

"And you're a pig."

"Just go." He pushed her forward with the bottom of his foot. She fought the urge to turn around and slap him as she stomped down to the small kitchen. She rummaged through the limited supplies, when she was thrown off her feet. There was a loud explosion that shook the ship. She tried to stand up but something was on her leg, and was pressing down hard. She tried to push it off but it was too heavy. Next she tried to pull her leg out, but the more she moved it around, the more skin was scraped off. She could feel blood dripping off her leg. She heard someone run by, but they didn't hear her as she screamed for help. She tried pushing it off with all of her strength, but the with mix of her rope-burnt hands and her shoulders that were almost pulled out of their sockets, she couldn't do it. Tears rolled rapidly down her cheeks, as she pushed and tugged, and did everything she could to get that thing off of her. Exhausted, she gave up. Her tears were soaking her face, as she sobbed. The ship was filling up with water, and explosions were going off faster. She could see the water, lightly streaming with redness. She knew it was coming from her leg. She stared panicking, her vision blurred, and she felt like she was going to faint.

Through her blurry vision she saw a figure appear. She could tell it was talking, but what it was saying was a mystery. The voice sounded like it was being spoken into a tube miles away. The pressure on her leg suddenly disappeared, and she felt hands pull her up. She was weightless and drifting through the air. She still heard noises, but they were all far away, and unimportant. All that was important was her weightlessness, and the voice closest to her. She didn't know what it was saying but it calmed her. She fell into the voice, and soon fell asleep.

**Ohhh, I wonder who that was? Hehe, you guys are awesome, please review. (See, that's what you do, you compliment someone, and then they're your slave. Ask Brendan Small, he'll sing you a song about it.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for the reviews, and disclaimer's the same. Sorry 'bout Bootstrap, I kind of forgot about him because I don't really…care about him. But I'll try harder, I promise. And, if that's not what you meant, he left the Flying Dutchman when Jack did. Hehe, chapter 4!**

CHAPTER 4

Azalea woke up in a big bed surrounded by darkness. When she didn't see or hear anyone she decided to get up. She stepped off of the bed, and a sharp pain shot up her leg. She slowly limped out of the room, grabbing everything on her way for support. The minute she stepped out of the room James Norrington walked quickly to her and helped hold her up. He walked her back the way she came from. "Azalea, you've been through a lot, you should be resting."

Azalea was breathing quickly, almost gasping for breath. "What—what happened? Where…are they?"

"Don't worry, they can't hurt you anymore. Now lay down…" He pushed lightly on her shoulders, but she brushed his hands off.

"What do you mean? Where are they?"

"They're locked away." Again he tried to gently push her shoulders down.

Again she brushed him off. She took him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "What happened?"

James sighed and sat down next to her. "We came to rescue you. And it seems a pillar of some sort had fallen on your leg. One of my men found you in a cabin with Barbossa where he laid you on a bed. We assumed he was planning on doing…something with you. Thank god he found you when he did." He looked up as if were actually thanking god. "I really think you should get some rest," he said adding a bit more pressure to her shoulders.

"I don't want to sleep!" She sprung off of the bed, and limped as quickly as she could around the ship. She made her way to dungeon, where pirates or other unlawful people were held in the ship. She could hear people close behind her, and was surprised—yet of course relieved—when she saw no one was guarding the cells. Everyone sprang up when they saw her. "Where are the keys?" she asked in a rushed whisper. Everyone pointed in one direction. She grabbed the ring and saw how many keys were on there. There must have been dozens. She stuck the first key in the lock of the nearest cell. It went in but wouldn't budge left or right. She tried the next key, but before she could try to twist it someone pulled her back.

A man in uniform picked her up almost as easily as Barbossa had the—hour, day, week, she couldn't tell—before. She kicked and grunted, but he had too tight a hold, and soon someone was holding her legs. Another man, noticing Bootstrap Bill trying to grab the key out of the lock, grabbed it quickly. Azalea continued to try and kick, but their hold was too strong. Soon the Commodore came down and stood silently, observing her spasm. She stopped kicking when she saw him, and she was breathing heavily. "James…please…let them go."

"I assume you would go with them. And where do you suppose you'd go, you have no ship."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks. They were more from the pain of the guard grabbing her wound, then from what was happening, but she hoped it would work to her advantage anyway. "Please. I'm begging."

"Take her to her cabin. I expect she'll sleep."

"James, wait! Please, just listen to me!" The men carried her back to the room she woke up in, and dropped her on the bed. Azalea pushed herself into an upright position with her arms. "Let me see James."

The guard laughed, "No."

Let me see James, or…" She looked around the room for something. She found a glass vase and broke it on the table. "…Or I'll cut myself. James won't be too happy with you then, will he?"

The guard rolled his eyes, and stuck his thumb towards the door. The younger guard nodded and vanished from the room. A few minutes later James appeared.

"What?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"Make them, leave." She nodded her head towards the guards. James looked at them and nodded once. They left the room, shutting the door. "OK, um…if you let them go…I'll stay."

"What?"

"If you let them go, and let them off at Tortuga, I'll stay on this ship, and won't put up a fight, and I'll be good." James was silent as he thought about it. "So…do we have a deal?"

James took one hand from behind his back and stuck it out. Azalea took it in her hand and shook it. She laid down and turned away from James.

X+X+X+X+X+X

The nine of them sat around a big table in Tortuga. "Wait, so why isn't Azalea here?" Ragetti asked.

Pintel hit him on the back of his head. "She stayed on the ship, so _we_ could leave, you moron."

Ragetti fished his wooden eye out of his nearly full mug, and put it back in his head. "Sorry."

"We have to get her back," Barossa said.

Bootstrap shook his head. "We're outnumbered, we'll end up back in the cells."

"Then we'll recruit people."

Jack snorted. "A lot of help that did last time."

"We'll do it anyway."

"OK, well what are we going to do with the newly recruited men? Both of the ships are at the bottom of the ocean."

"We'll take one. They'll be at Port Royal by the time we catch up; we'll just have to find her there."

"And how do you suppose we get by the hundreds of guards?"

"What do you think? We act like pirates."

X+X+X+X+X+X

There was a knock on the door, and Azalea looked up from the book she found on the side table. "Yes?"

James Norrington walked in the room with a tray of food. "I suppose you're hungry, you haven't eaten in at least a day."

She remained cordial, responding quietly and with as few words as possible. "Yes, thank you."

"I don't mean to impose, but I just don't understand why you would want to be on the ship with those…pirates."

"They're my friends." She tried to make the tone of her voice quiet, and just state facts.

"Friends? Even that Sparrow character?"

"He's my brother."

"Oh." He thought back to her days as his maid. "I thought you said you last name was Smith."

"That's just what I told people. It's really Sparrow."

Shrugging, the Commodore set the tray down over Azalea's legs. For dinner, Azalea was givin soup broth, bread, and milk. James never let Azalea drink alcohol, at least not when he could stop it. Azalea took small spoonfuls of broth, and sipped them politely.

"So, you found something to read?"

Azalea didn't look up from her food when she replied. "Yes."

"Azalea, please don't be like this."

"I don't know what you're talking about. We agreed I had to be good. That's just what I'm doing."

"No, Azalea, you're not being yourself. I don't want you to jump ship, but I don't want you to be like _this_."

Azalea smiled. "You want me to be like I used to be? Like old times?"

The Commodore let out a breath he had been holding in and smiled. "Yes."

"Well that's too bad, because I can't act like that anymore. At least not to you. Because you're different now."

"What do you mean? How am I different?"

"You're selfish. Even after you found out that those people are my friends, you wouldn't let them go. But then when you found out you could make it so you 'do the right thing' but still get to have me yourself, you totally went for it. You just tried to have things your way while making yourself look better. You never used to be like that. Well, I suppose you could have always been like that, but you just never had to deal with me wanting be somewhere other than with you. But you need to get over it, because I'm grown up and those are the people I want to be with, and that's that."

James looked as if he was going to say something back, but instead he left the room. Once he left the room, Azalea ate her food much more like a pig, because she really was very hungry. She dunked her bread in the broth and took huge bites, and when the bread was gone she drank from the bowl like it was a cup. She gulped down her milk and set her tray on the floor. She threw off her blankets. She had only realized she had been changed into a nightgown when the guards put her back in her room. She lifted the bottom of the dress to inspect her wound. She unrolled the neatly wrapped bandage and grimaced when she saw her leg. About eight square inches of her calf was red and at one time bleeding. There was dried blood on the bandage and red marks where the blood had dripped on her leg. After seeing enough she wrapped her leg back up (not nearly as nice as before) and got up from her bed.

Still limping she walked around to the back of the ship. Is was dark out, and stars covered the sky. The moonlight reflected off the water and on to her face. The wind gave her chills but she didn't want to leave. She wanted so badly to jump off the ship, but every way she looked was water. So she sat down and continued to stare at the large swells in the water. Her thoughts traveled back to the first time she met James.

_She was 10 years old and James' cook Emma had seen her begging. Emma asked if she could clean houses knowing the Commodore's previous maid had succumbed to her pneumonia. She took Azalea to the Commodore's estate and introduced the two. She remembered James being so kind to her. He always leaned down to eye level when he talked to her. "What's your name?"_

"_Azalea."_

"_Azalea?" She nodded. "And you can clean?" She nodded again. He gave her his arm, which she took after realizing what he was doing. "I'll give you he tour." She remembered the tour being very long, and he would always talk to her like she was a younger age, but she didn't mind. After the first day he realized that he was treating her like a 6 year-old, and that she was a very mature 10 year-old. He treated her like an older woman after that day, but never like an adult. _

Azalea heard footsteps and knew who it was. James sat down next to her, neither of them looking at each other. "I'm sorry." Both of them remained staring at the ocean. "You're right. I'm selfish. But you can't blame me." She turned to him looking unimpressed. "I've missed you so much, and when I see you with someone else it just…" He cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her.

She pushed his hands away and stood up. "I don't want that!" James got up to approach her but she back away. "I don't want this!" She grabbed at her nightgown. She put her and to her head, calming down. "And I don't want you." She left him standing there as she retreated to what she now called her cabin.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"How many people we got?" Barbossa asked without looking up from his hands.

"Thirteen," Gibbs handed his pen to another hopeful. "Fourteen."

"Well we need to get the number up quickly or we'll be hopeless."

"I can't make people want to sign up."

"Yes you can, so do it." Gibbs sighed and started yelling out things that weren't true, and things that were possible but probably wouldn't happen. A few more people came to sign up. "Happy?"

Barbossa looked up for a moment. "No." He looked back down at his hands and picked off the dead skin. "Where's Jack?"

"On your shoulder."

"No, not the monkey, you moron."

"Oh." Gibbs looked around. "Um…"

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Jack, this is so wrong." Elizabeth was leaning against a pillar as Jack planted kisses up and down her neck.

"Shhh." He un-buttoned her blouse and ran his tongue along her collarbone.

"What if someone comes in?"

"They won't."

She lifted his head up. "But what if they do?"

He groaned. "Then we'll tell them to leave." Elizabeth pulled Jack by his collar and on to her.

The door creaked open and two figures stumbled in. They heard a woman's voice. "Don't worry, honey, _no_body's gonna be here. They stumbled under the shining moonlight.

"Will!" Elizabeth pushed Jack off of her and leaned uneasily against the pillar. She noticed her shirt and tried to button it up as quickly as possible.

"Elizabeth! Hi."

"Hello, Jack." The woman put her hands on her hips.

"Giselle!" Jack walked to Giselle and was immediately slapped in the face. "Yep." He rubbed his cheek. He walked back to Elizabeth who he found with her arms crossed. "Please don't slap me." There was a long awkward silence after that, none of them wanting to admit what they had done, or were about to do. The tension was broken when Gibbs came in telling them all that they found a ship, a lot of willing participants, and they were boarding. The air actually seemed to get thicker as they sighed with relief. They made their way on to the ship, ready to ignore Barbossa's rampages.

X+X+X+X+X+X

There was a knock on Azalea's door and James stuck his head in. "We've arrived at Port Royal." He left without saying another word, shutting the door harder than necessary. Azalea sighed and got out of bed, walking easily. Her wound was mostly covered in scabs now so she always had to stop herself from picking at them. During her time on the ship she found the clothes she was wearing when she arrived on the ship, and was wearing them when she finally got off the ship.

Azalea was walking away when James grabbed her arm. "Were are you going?"

"Away from you."

"No, no you're not. You see, you agreed to stay in return of for your 'friends'' release. I happen to know they'll be coming back for you, so you'll be staying with me until they arrive."

Azalea took hold of his hand and dropped it off of her arm. "You can't keep me here, I only agreed to stay on the ship."

"You also agreed you'd be good, which you weren't. You break the rules, I break the rules." He continued as if he had never been interrupted. "Once they arrive they will be captured and hung. And then I'll have to figure out what to do with you, the Thief of Hearts." James looked down at her grimy clothes. "Of course, I will have to buy you suitable clothes if you're going to be staying with me. But, that's just a formality. And until your so-called friends arrive, consider yourself under my control. Absolute control."

**OHHH, what's gonna happen? I actually have no idea, so it'll keep you guessing. I _hope_ whatever I come up with is super good, and you're all like "OMG, I can't believe that just happened!" Actually, I hope that's what you said for this chapter, and every other chapter I've ever written. Anyway, I live on reviews, they are my caffeine. If you don't review, I totally, most certainly will die of caffeine…related…stuff. And then you won't know what happens! But you'll probably come up with something better than me, so…I don't know. Oh, I hope the Bootstrapnessity in this chapter was to your liking. Review! And, OK, I just have to tell you this because I'm weird: My computer smells like Spencer's, that weird store in the mall. K, bye.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry about the really long wait, but updating would interrupt my wallowing in self-pity. See the dilemma, there's no way to get around that. So, thanks again for the reviews, disclaimer's the same. Oh, and a warning, in my story (if you haven't noticed) the characters change a lot, and that's just because I think no one always stays the same. Like, under different circumstances (or the same circumstance) the characters are going to act different because they're in a different mood, and stuff. OK, I've rambled enough, here's my story.**

CHAPTER 5

Elizabeth and Will sat silently in their cabin. Elizabeth stared at the floor while Will stared at a nick in the wall. Every once in a while one of them would open their mouth to speak, only to close it a second later. Finally Elizabeth spoke.

"Will." Will looked up at her, then quickly dropped his eyes down to her feet. "Will look at me."

"I am."

"Fine. I sorry about what happened in Tortuga. But I can't say I wish it didn't happen. I do wish you didn't have to find out like that."

"Find out? So that's it, we're never getting married?" He looked up at her. She smiled sadly as an answer. "Did you ever really want to marry me?"

"Of course I did, Will. But feelings change. I know I still love you…just not like that."

"And your feelings for Jack?"

"They're…new. But strong."

"Great. Well I hope you two are happy together." Will got up and walked to the door.

"Will, wait!" Will didn't wait, but when he opened the door he automatically bounced back.

"We need more hands on deck. Less than half of them know what they're doing." Barbossa left in as much of a zombie-like state as when he was talking to them. Elizabeth and Will only glanced at each other before leaving to work on the ship.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"You missed a spot." Azalea glared at the Commodore before dunking her rag back in the bucket. She pulled it out quickly letting water splash everywhere before unenthusiastically wiping down the spot she missed.

She threw the rag back in the bucket and stood up to face James. "Can't you get a maid to do this?"

"Oh yes, but it's much more entertaining to watch you. Oh, and I expect my room to be dusted by nightfall. I have horrible allergies."

"Oh, well I wouldn't want you to die in your sleep."

He smirked. "Don't worry, I'm in no danger of that. Your room will be locked. And there will be guards outside." James could see the look on her face held an idea. "Guards below your window too." The look went away and she glared at him. He smiled. "Come along, now." He took her arm and started walking.

She pulled her arm away. "Where?"

"My guests are due to arrive. You _will_ behave." He took her arm again and looked her up and down. "You'll need a new dress. Emily." A middle-aged woman appeared out of nowhere and stood obediently beside him. "Take her to get changed." She nodded and took Azalea by the arm.

James stood outside the door of Azalea's room listening to the "ouches," the "stop thats," and the "are you done yets?" Azalea finally came out of the room with her hair tied back, wearing her best dress. It took James all of his will power not to comment on how she looked and keep an expressionless face. He heard another one of his maids downstairs greeting his guest. James held out his arm and reluctantly Azalea took it.

As they descended the stairs James changed his face into a more cheerful expression. "Lord Beckett. A pleasure to see you."

Cutler Beckett handed his coat and hat to the maid who greeted him. "It's all mine." They exchanged fake smiles as James led him to the sitting room. Before they sat down Cutler Beckett took Azalea's hand. "And who's this young lady?" He brought her hand to his lips."

Azalea looked at James with pleading eyes. "This is Azalea Smith."

Cutler lowered her hand and she drew it back. "It's a pleasure." He smiled at her with a creepy expression on his face.

Azalea, for the first time, realized how hard it was to smile while simultaneously trying not to vomit. She nodded and sat down when James did.

"So what is the occasion for you to request my company?"

A woman in an apron appeared in the doorway. James pointed his arm towards the dining room. "Shall we discuss it over lunch?"

X+X+X+X+X+X

Hector Barbossa sat still in his cabin, ignoring the sounds of his crew struggling to keep the ship afloat. A storm was rocking the ship and throwing people about. He stared out the porthole watching the lightning flash in the sky. He was determined to get Azalea back. After all it was his fault that she was gone. It's his fault that pillar fell on her, and it's his fault the naval ship caught up with them. Barbossa's self loathing was interrupted when Elizabeth shot through the door.

"Jack's hurt." Barbossa turned away from her and stared back at the lightning. She grabbed his shoulders, "Are you hearing me? He's hurt, badly. I think he slipped, or something, his head is bleeding. Gibbs is trying to keep him awake." He remained indifferent to the situation. "This is Lea's brother!" That got his attention. "Are you gonna let something bad happen to him?" He sighed and followed Elizabeth to Jack. She knelt down beside Jack and held his head in her lap. "We should get him somewhere dry. He can use my cabin."

Gibbs nodded and looked down to Jack. "Can ya walk?"

"Of course I can walk." He continued to lie on the ground. "Just help me up." Barbossa and Gibbs pulled him up then let go. Immediately he fell down and the two other men caught him. "I'm a bit dizzy. Maybe you can drag me." So, with Barbossa and Gibbs on each side of him, Jack was dragged into Elizabeth's cabin. They laid him on the bed and Elizabeth sat down beside him, ringing out the soaked cloth and laying on his head.

"He shouldn't be alone. I'll stay with him." Barbossa and Gibbs looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They walked out silently. When they shut the door Elizabeth lied down next to Jack and draped his arm over her.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea sat quietly in the middle of the table while the two men chatted away from each end. Emily took away everybody's plates. "So, Commodore, why is it you asked me here?"

"You are, of course, familiar with Jack Sparrow, yes?"

"Of course."

"Of Course. Well, I have reason to believe—excuse me. I am _certain_ that he, and a whole ship of pirates will arrive here, very soon. Strong reinforcement is requested by myself."

"And how did you come across this information?"

"The how is not important. The what is the only thing that matters, and what I need is strong reinforcement. Can you do that for me?"

"I believe I can make the arrangements."

"Brilliant." He stood up and held his hands behind his back. Lord Beckett stood up after him, and, finally catching on, Azalea stood up too. "Again, a pleasure to have you here."

"Hmm." He turned around when he got to the door. "Miss Smith," he took Azalea's hand and kissed it once again. Before Azalea had to smile/not vomit, Cutler Beckett was out the door. As soon as he was gone Azalea turned to James.

"Why would you do that with me there? You're trying to torture me, aren't you?"

"You didn't have fun?"

"No!"

"Oh well, it needed to be done."

"Why did it need to be done while I was there?"

"Absolutely no disrespect towards him, but Lord Beckett is a very lonely man."

"So what, now you're prostituting me?"

"I wouldn't call it that. I'm just tempting him, and using you as bait."

"Oh that sounds so much better."

"Face it, he's a lonely man who will do almost anything for girls like you."

She smiled to herself, knowing what she was about to say would get to him. "I'm surprised. He's quite handsome. And he has the softest touch, and knows what to say to a lady, and—oh, I could go on and on. Not that I'm saying I'm attracted to him…really." She managed to blush a bit, and with that she walked away leaving James Norrington speechless.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Jack, how did you slip?"

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, it's quite slippery out there." Jack failed to tell Elizabeth that Will assisted in his slipping. He failed to tell her that he assisted in knocking Jack's head on the wood rail. He also failed to notice that Will wanted him to go overboard.

"I'm sorry, I'm not thinking. I'm just so worried about you."

"Luv, you don't need to be worried about me. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, remember?"

Will opened the door and rolled his eyes. "Yes we all know. It's your only excuse for anything you do." He glared at the two, grabbed his vest, and slammed the door. A moment later he stuck his head back in. "Barbossa says we're nearing Port Royal." He slammed the door again, this time more out of embarrassment.

Jack looked down to see Elizabeth staring at the door. "Don't worry about him, luv."

"I know, I shouldn't, but I can't help it. I betrayed him. He proposed, I accepted, and then I betrayed him."

"You couldn't help it. And Will will get over it. I'm sure he would rather this happen now then for you to wait, and then after years of marriage finally tell him how you feel. Plus, he was with Giselle, that's bad." Elizabeth smiled and wrapped his arm tighter around her.

X+X+X+X+X+X

There were two knocks on Azalea's door before James entered. "Have you been in my study?" Azalea held the book in her hands up in front of her as an answer. "I never said that you could go in there."

"Yeah, well you never said I couldn't either."

James ducked out of the room. Less than a minute later Emily came in with a nightgown. She laid it across her bed then extinguished her lantern,

"How does she expect me to get changed in the dark?" Azalea asked to herself. She ignored the fact that she couldn't see a thing and got changed as quickly as she could, just in case James decided to come back in. She got back in bed and tried her hardest to fall asleep. Just then she remembered what James said about the guards outside her door. She didn't remember seeing any before, so maybe they weren't there now. Azalea slowly opened the door to her room and found there were no guards. She quietly tiptoed down the stairs and twisted the handle of the door. It opened easily and she stepped out into the night. She walked three feet and no sooner did she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Lost?" She turned around to see two watchmen smiling at her.

She sighed. "I'm going." She went back inside and stomped as quietly as she could up the stairs. When she turned into the hallway she saw James standing at her door. She walked up so she was only a few feet away from him. He stared at her in her nightgown as she stood with her hands on her hips. "Sorry I left my room." She continued to walk towards her door but James stopped her with his arm. She let out an irritated sigh and looked up at him. "What?"

He bent down to kiss her, but she quickly pushed him off.

"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked him. "You know I'm always gonna push you off."

"I can't help the fact that I'm in love with you."

"Well I've had a fine time keeping my love for you completely turned off."

"I'm not you and you're not me."

"You're absolutely right, because if I were you, even for an hour, I wouldn't be here now, I'd be off somewhere with Hector Barbossa."

"You actually think he loves you? You really know nothing about men, do you?"

"By saying I know nothing about men, you're implying all men, which is saying all men are the same. If all men are the same, and Hector doesn't love me, that means you don't love me either. So do you want to rephrase that comment, or can I go?" He stepped back and she quickly entered her room.

X+X+X+X+X+X

The crew waited quietly as Barbossa paced back and forth. "You all have to be ready. You can't go in there and freeze up. I need you all ready. We're going to go in there, kill anyone we need to, and bring her back."

"What about the code?" The new recruit instantly regretted saying what he did and he shrunk down in the group.

"We're pirates! Codes don't matter. Now lets go in there, and get her back!"

"Aye!" The crew shouted with enthusiasm as they lowered the longboat into the dark water. The few still on the ship shot off cannons and got the ship ready to leave.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea had just nodded off to sleep when she heard a loud bang. She shot up from her bed and looked out her window. A small smile curled on her lips as the saw the flashes of cannon fire. Azalea closed her eyes and her smile grew. She saw Barbossa shouting orders at mindless recruits and shoving them off. Azalea ran out of her room, but the second she stepped out she ran into James. He grabbed on to both of her arms and backed her into her room.

"You didn't actually think I'd let you go with them, did you?"

"Please, you have to let me go."

"Hmm…no."

"You have to, or else they'll get here and they'll kill you."

"Rubbish. They'll never get through my guards."

"Oh, yes they will. They may be outnumbered, but they'll find a way, they're pirates."

"I know what they are, they're vile, disgusting pi—"

Azalea slapped him hard on his face. He grabbed her arms and pushed her back on the bed. Azalea rubbed her arm with a slight smile on her face. "You've never done that before."

He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry. You can't leave this room, and no one's getting in." The moment he said that, as if he was being timed, the door flung open and knocked him off his feet.

Azalea jumped up and ran into Hector's arms. She hugged him tight then pulled back quickly.

"Let's go." She grabbed his hand and ran out of the room. She was yanked back when he didn't move. She went back inside the room and stood in front of Barbossa and James. "He's unconscious, lets go."

Barbossa took out his pistol. "No."

"He's not going to wake up, lets just go." She pulled on his arms and dragged him out the door.

"Fine." He put his pistol away and ran down the hall with Azalea. They ran back to the ship and sent flair, the signal to retreat to the ship. Those who made it back quickly were lucky, because the guards and the Royal Navy were after them pretty quickly, and all others were left behind. As the ship left the port everybody was silent. They all knew that soon they'd be under attack again. That the Naval ships would catch up. It was all a matter of time, and all they could do was wait.

X+X+X+X+X+X

James woke up on the floor of one of his guest bedrooms. His head was throbbing as he sat up. He had to close his eyes, as the throbbing and the dizziness were too much for him. Finally, when his head settled down he stood up and looked out of the window. There was no more cannon fire, or gunshots, or anything of the sort, but he could tell there had been mayhem. He stepped backward, almost tripping over the gown Azalea had worn. She had carelessly thrown it on the ground when she changed into her nightgown. He picked it up and laid down on the bed. He brought the gown up to his nose and inhaled deeply. The smell of her took over his mind and he drifted to sleep. Azalea raced through his mind yet he found little comfort in his dream. Even unconsciously he knew she was gone, and he knew he needed to get her back. Somehow.

**OK, that was chapter 5, did it blow your mind? Were you like, "Oh my god, that blew my mind!" I bet you were. I have that affect on people. OK, well review, it keeps me writing. Totally serious. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you, once again, for all the reviews, they're all awesome. And I hope I'm not depriving anyone of SparraBeth. Or…Barlea? Ha! I love it, Barlea. Well, it kinda just looks like it says Barley, but written weird. Anyway, Barlea is the new trend, catch on! Oh, and has anyone noticed how often I make people fall asleep? It seems to be the only way I can end a scene unless it's super abrupt. Oh well, no one's complained yet. And, OK, you know how I said I spelled Port Royal wrong in the first chapter? Of course you do. Well I have a cat named Royal. Sad? Yes, very.**

CHAPTER 6

The ship rocked slowly in the vast ocean. They could see in every direction and no one was going after them. The soft wind chilled the crew as water would occasionally spray the ship. Azalea once again closed her eyes. Sitting behind her, Barbossa raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"No. It's weird this has never happened before. I've always been able to pick what I want to see."

"OK…where's Elizabeth."

Azalea closed her eyes. "She's asleep in her cabin with Jack." She paused and looked at Barbossa. "_Both_ asleep. Will's pouting on the lower deck, and Cotton is leaning against a rail, asleep. I can see this whole ship, but I can't see James. I can't see Cutler Beckett," she shivered with remembrance, "and I can't see any of the Navy. He knows what he's doing. He's always been able to hide his thoughts from me if he chose to." She sighed realizing what must have happened. "He probably showed his crew and Lord Beckett to mask their thoughts"

"What about his maids?"

She smiled at him and closed her eyes. She pictured Emily but she was no help. She was dusting in the room Azalea had stayed in. She remembered the maid that greeted Lord Beckett and pictured her. She found her carrying a tea tray. She smiled. Barbossa leaned closer to Azalea as if trying to see what she was seeing. Azalea followed the maid into James' study where he sat in front of a large map. She studied the map quickly, and the marks he had made and opened her eyes. "James has charted a course. Well, many actually. All we have to do is stay away from where he's planning on going, and far away. He'll have a fleet of ships, he usually does with something like this."

He looked at her bemused.

"When I was his maid I would clean parts the ships before he would leave, and sometimes when they were going to be gone for a long time, he would keep me to clean. He's gonna have smaller ships on ether side of him keeping a look out for this ship. We need to give them an extremely wide berth. It's gonna be hard, they're covering a lot of ground. Er, sea."

"Where are they going first?"

"I don't know. All I saw was the different charted courses. It would probably be simpler for him to chart one zigzagging course, but he's probably taking extra precaution. He knows me too well."

Hector curled his lips. "Great." He walked to his quarters.

Azalea ran after him. "Wait, you don't think I have 'feelings' for him, do you?"

Barbossa stopped at the door and turned around to face her. He was silent for a moment before speaking. "I need you to chart his courses on my map." Azalea sighed and followed Barbossa as he led the way into the Captain's Quarters. Azalea sat in the chair, but feeling uncomfortable by Hector's height she stood up. He wasn't unusually tall, maybe 6', she was just unusually short, about 5'2". She closed her eyes, bringing up the map in her head. She focused on one part and drew it flawlessly on the map. She closed her eyes again and did the same thing, until the map was covered. She sat back down as a signal she was finished. Barbossa looked down and frowned. "He's covered everything."

Azalea sat silent for a moment and a smile grew on her face. She shot up and took a step closer to Barbossa. "Not everything." He was silent, signifying she should go on. "When Tia contacted me she mentioned…the end of the earth. But as, like, a last resort. You know how to get there, right?"

Instead of answering, Barbossa walked up towards the helm. Azalea sat back in his chair and listened as he shouted orders at the crew. She sighed. Her relationship with Hector had been normal up until she mentioned James. And the fact that she stopped Barbossa from killing the man who was now in pursuing them didn't help. She sighed and sat further back in the seat, eventually falling asleep.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Elizabeth stirred in her sleep as she heard a noise. "Luv, you awake?" She made incoherent noises and threw her arm over her face. He smiled and looked down at her. He shook her. "Luv."

She slowly turned to him and smiled. "Jack. You're awake."

"You really do have a tendency to point out the obvious."

She blushed and lightly pushed him on the shoulder. "I was afraid. I was beginning to think you'd never wake up."

"What made you think that? Of course I'd wake up."

"Well, you did sleep through cannon fire."

"That happened already? Bullocks, I wanted a new pair of shoes."

She giggled and continued to discuss. "Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we got your _baby sister_ back." She emphasized baby with a pinch of Jack's cheeks.

He pinched her cheeks right back. "Well I'm glad, because with my dangerous whereabouts, she'll need to keep the Sparrow legacy alive."

"Well, it would soon turn into the Barbossa legacy."

Jack sat up more. "What?"

"She has a little crush on him. It's rather cute, really."

"No, not cute, he's a horrible man that marooned my on an island."

"Oh, Jack, you've known her as your sister for, how long? And you're _already_ being defensive."

"I don't care if she's been my sister for a month, or a week, or a day, I don't want them to have anything to do with each other." He sat all the way up causing Elizabeth's head to fall on the bed.

She sat up after him. "I'm sure they have nothing to do with each other, I was just teasing."

"I don't care. I've killed him once, I can kill him again."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea awoke, curled up in Barbossa's chair. She stood up and walked over to the window. It was light out, and the sun was shining. She walked out of the Captain's Quarters stretching and yawning. She looked down and grimaced noticing the nightgown she was wearing. As she approached the helm she noticed Barbossa still there, looking half asleep. When he noticed her, the look disappeared and he stood up straighter.

"Hector."

"It's Captain Barbossa."

Azalea rolled her eyes. "I'm not calling you that."

"Then I'm not listening to you." He stared at the Ocean in front of him.

"I don't care if you say you're listening or not. I know you hear me. You feel something for me. I don't know what that something is, but it's there, you need to stop pretending. You wouldn't go through this trouble to bring me back if you didn't, and you certainly wouldn't have risked your life by coming to get me yourself. I don't love James; I don't even particularly like him. You need to stop thinking I do. I know I feel something for you…as creepy as it sounds, I do. I wish there wasn't this huge age difference between us, but there is. What am I saying by that? I don't know. I may, possibly…be in love with you."

He looked down at her. "Sorry," He said with stern sympathy.

Azalea nodded, a stray tear falling down her face. She walked away from the ostensibly heartless man and back to her cabin. She closed her eyes, hoping to find some comfort in her thoughts. She tried hard, but even her mind hated her. Why had she told him all of that? She should have seen him for what he is, a callous pirate. Maybe James had been right. No matter what she tried telling herself, all the men in her life were the same. She put her hands on her face and noticed her cheeks were wet. She'd been crying a lot more than she thought. She wiped her face off with her hands and lay back on her bed. Her thoughts drifted back to James, and she noticed he wasn't blocking her anymore. She saw him and that he was just talking. He could easily block her, but he wanted her to see him. She scanned the room but she couldn't find any other minds. He was talking to her.

"…The things I said to you. I didn't mean them. I really hope you're hearing me, because I feel quite silly talking to myself like this." She smiled and looked at his surroundings. It looked like he was in one his ships, the same ship, in fact, that they first conversed in. "I know you hate me at the moment, but I promise you'll get over it. Remember the fight we had on you're 13th birthday?" Her smile grew as she remembered it. She had read a book about pirates, and she wanted one of their big hats. He, instead, bought her a gown, and she was irate. She didn't realize how much she was treated like a princess when she was in fact a maid. She quickly got over it when he bought her a hat, the same hat she had been wearing for three years. It was now down at the bottom of the ocean, along with the ship Tia had supplied them. "It will be that mess all over again. I'll even buy you a new hat." He went away in her mind, obviously blocking her out again. He probably didn't want her to know he was pursuing them. Though luck, they already knew. Azalea had the sudden urge to let him find them. And if it weren't for the other people on the ship she probably would have. If it weren't for those she cared about, she would probably give Captain Barbossa to the Royal Navy.

X+X+X+X+X+X

At the helm, Hector stared mindlessly at the water. He was interrupted with the sound of footsteps approaching. Assuming it was Azalea ready to yell at him, he was surprised to turn and see Jack with his sword drawn.

Barbossa cocked his head to the side. "Are you dense?"

"She's 16."

"I know perfectly well how old she is. The mystery is how you do. You haven't said more than three words to her, and now you're claiming to care. I'm not an expert in this, but I'm guessing whatever comes out of killing me is mostly beneficial to you." He drew his sword. "And I don't be too keen on that."

He swung is sword down, but it was blocked by Jack's sword. Barbossa jumped down from the steps, making Jack step back. They crossed blades, back and forth until Elizabeth ran out. "Stop it, stop it!" A small crowd had gathered, none of them daring to get between the two. Elizabeth looked at them with repugnance, as she easily broke up the clash. "Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves. The past is the past, it means nothing now." Will—who happened to be one of the audience members, and quite enjoyed seeing the two fight—dropped his head down at Elizabeth's comment. "Lea makes her own decisions, and I'm talking to both of you." She gave them both the evil eye before retreating to her cabin. The two glanced at each other with a harsh face before looking back at the deck.

The small crowd walked away moaning and sighing, as Will walked away muttering, "I would have loved to see at least one of them die."

X+X+X+X+X+X

The Commodore paced back and forth on the deck. It had only been hours since they had boarded the ship, and already he was getting impatient. He needed to find her. He needed to know she was safe, and she'd only be safe with him. Finding no comfort in yelling at his crew anymore, he sighed and made his way to him cabin. Inside there was a large oak desk along with a sizable chair. He plopped down into the chair with great fatigue and opened one of the desk drawers. A half empty bottle of rum was lying in one of the may desk drawers along with a glass. He poured a small amount of rum and leaned back in the chair. He closed his eyes, when Gillette walked in.

"Sir, there's no trace of them yet."

James sighed. "Do you really have to inform me of my failures?"

Gillette thought for a moment before speaking. "No, my apologies Sir."

James spread his hand over his eyes, and with the free hand he waved Gillette out. He had a headache. He threw down the rest of his rum before getting up to lie on the bed. Exhausted, both emotionally and physically he fell asleep quickly. Though sleep wasn't the pleasant escape he thought it would be. He tossed and turned in his bed, awaking nearly every ten minutes. He was restless in anticipation of seeing Azalea again. He had no idea how the plan of additional guards failed so plainly, but he was going to make up for it. Azalea was the key, having her would make everything else right.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Still lying in her bed, Azalea began to review her current situation. Wallowing had become her favorite activity, along with hating herself, and wishing others would pity her. Hours had passed since she had talked to anyone and the silence was beginning to comfort her. When she'd hear a loud noise outside her door, or even a quiet one yards away, she became very annoyed that her silence was encroached upon. As the darkness settled in, she became a part of it, moving with it, and seeing its infinite life. The darkness and the silence soon became the only reason for her life. Both aspects of her life were shattered when she heard her cabin door open and shut. She didn't move as footsteps drew near her. Her bed sunk and when she opened her eyes she saw a shadow above her. She felt a hot breath on her neck as arms dropped down on either side of her. Slowly, and reluctantly Azalea pushed him off of her. Barbossa sat up in the bed next to her, confused. Only hours before, she had broken down in front of him, now she was pushing him away, like a needy pet.

"What's the problem? Isn't this what you want?"

She shook her head, a single tear falling down her cheek. "You don't love me."

"I do. I wasn't sure earlier, I was confused."

"Then you're indifferent, which is even more dangerous."

"You're a pirate now, danger's what you live for."

Azalea sighed with contempt. "I have no idea what I am anymore. And the meaning of my life? Two minutes ago I thought it was silence and darkness."

"That's ridiculous."

"So is living for danger. Everything is ridiculous, everything is crazy, and nothing is certain. Living for anything other than yourself is useless."

"How can you be sure?"

With a sad smile she shook her head. "I can't."

Ignoring all prior protests, he leaned in and kissed her. She resisted only for a second before surrendering. His kisses weren't the same as they were weeks previous. They were softer now, less rushed. He ran his hand over Azalea's thin nightgown and with his other hand he gently pushed her back on the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer. She squirmed under Barbossa, pushing his sword aside. He next movies his pistol to the other side and threw his hat off. She moaned quietly as he worked his way down her neck, planting a kiss every inch. Azalea cursed the nightgown as Hectors hands reached her chest with nothing to un-button. He pulled her sleeve down over her shoulder and ran his mouth along her collarbone. She moaned again taking his chin in her hands. He brought him back to eye level and kissed him once more. With that, she sat up, regaining her composure, and walked out of the room, not once looking back. Barbossa stared, mouth slightly agape, and flopped back down on the bed. As Azalea walked away from her cabin, Jack stopped her.

"What did he do to you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Nothing, he didn't do anything to me."

Jack looked down at her with disbelief as he peered at the red marks down her neck and shoulder. "Really?"

"Yes, really, just let me go." He stepped aside and Azalea pushed past him. She moved down to the kitchen, where she knew no one would be, and closed her eyes. She watched as James lay silently on his bed, an arm draped over his face. He watched as his chest moved up and down with his breaths. She noticed how every once in a while he would lift his fingers to his chin, a thinking habit. He was thinking about her, she knew it. She opened her eyes with a sad sigh. He loved her…if only she could return the feelings.

**PS, I have a story on fiction press, and no one's reviewed it, and I'm sad . You know you want to review it . Pwease? It's the same pen name. Oh, and review this one, too. OMG, SO FUNNY, it says "softer, less rushed," and GEOFFREY RUSH was doing the kissing! I didn't even realize that! OK, Kinda hyper, sorry.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ugh, school, that's all I have to say…oh, and this. OK, look forward to some Sparrabethnessity in this chapter. And don't worry, I'll look into getting Will a nice OC so he doesn't die of loneliness…though that would be a nice twist…but I _do_ have some ideas. Anyway, thanks for the reviews once again, disclaimer's the same.**

CHAPTER 7

There was a knock on Elizabeth's cabin door, to which she stubbornly turned away from. "Please, luv, let me in. I could always come in if I wanted, there are no locks on these doors."

She glared at him as he entered the room, turning further away. "I don't want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry. I was trying to defend my poor, helpless, defenseless sister."

"I think if you had paid attention to anything going on you'd realize she's not so helpless, and she doesn't need your defense."

"Fine. I didn't realize you two were so chummy."

She turned to him with a blatantly appalled face. "We are not _chummy_. We're ladies, and we expect to be addressed as so."

"Fine. But can you really call Lea a lady, I mean _Barbossa_."

Elizabeth slapped his arm. "That's your sister you're talking about."

"Can you tell me that you _honestly_ respect her choices in romance?"

She was silent for a moment. "Maybe he's not as bad as everyone thinks he is."

"Did you forget the time he hit you off your feet? Or did that knock the memory out of your Brian.

She glared at him. "I'm beginning to understand why he marooned you on the island in the first place."

He grabbed her arm, bringing her face millimeters away from his. "That's not very nice." Elizabeth pulled his face into hers. He began to lean her back on the bed, but she stopped him, slamming him down the opposite way.

Elizabeth straddled Jack, her arms and legs on either side of him. "You're not in the place to judge."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Ah."

Elizabeth lightly grabbed his lips with her fingers. "No talking." Jack zipped his mouth shut with his fingers, and threw away the key. "Good boy." She undid his belt and threw it across the room. He sat up, concerned about his personal effects. She pushed him back down and kissed around his neck, leaving red marks behind. She heard a soft moan escape from his lips and smirked. "What's this? The infamous womanizer brought down by the sweet Miss Swann?"

Jack sat up on his elbows. "No one's bringing anyone down, luv."

Elizabeth pushed him back down onto the bed, pounding her lips onto his. She ripped open his shirt and kissed down his chest. She pinned his arms down, not letting him move. This was going to be a long night—not that he was complaining.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Hours after she had left, Azalea returned to her cabin to find Barbossa still lying there. He wasn't asleep and he sat up the moment she entered. He opened his mouth to say something but Azalea held out her hand to stop him. "I need you to know that you don't control me."

Barbossa look at her, confused. "What?"

"I left the room before because I needed you to know that it's my choice. If I want to I can leave, and I will. OK?"

"OK."

Azalea smiled. "Good." She walked over to him and sat on his lap. She pulled his head over to hers and kissed him with a small smile on her face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He may not control her, but he wasn't going to let anyone take her away from him. Or at least that's what he thought. The two were forced to break apart when Ragetti came running through the door.

He breathed heavily taking pauses in his speech to get in a couple more breaths. "There are naval vessels in pursuit of us, a lot of them."

Azalea jumped off of Hector and pushed past Ragetti, with Hector close in tow. She looked over the rail and saw a fleet of ships following—sloops, cutters, brigs, everything. "That's impossible, he never charted this course."

Barbossa stood behind her, peering at the ships. "He probably hadn't charted all his courses when you saw the map. "

"I don't think he's ever even been out this way."

"Maybe he didn't even chart this course, he just decided to go this way first."

Azalea slammed her fists down on the rail. "Why can't he just leave me alone?"

Hector stepped beside her. "I should have killed him when I had the chance. We just have to outrun 'em, we could never fight. Not that many ships."

Elizabeth, who had been listening to them the whole time, sprung forward with an idea. "They may be faster than us, but they don't have the Black Pearl. If we dump all our stuff we might be able to outrun them."

Barbossa couldn't help but snicker at when they had tried that before against the Pearl, and how miserably they had failed. He sized up the ships before finally answering. "It's worth a try." Elizabeth nodded before backing away.

"Dump everything, the gunpowder, the cannons," She paused and turned to Jack, "the rum." Jack dropped his head before continuing on to his duties.

Azalea found the looking glass near the helm and searched the enemy ships for James Norrington. She finally spotted him with his own looking glass staring right back at her. She lowered the telescope so he could see her sad eyes. He dropped his from his face as Azalea raised hers back up just in time to see his face. It had a mix of guilt and hurt. He then turned away, dropping the telescope at his feet. Azalea turned around to find herself alone. Well, there were people all around her, but she felt alone. She couldn't do any of what they were doing, she was far too weak.

She ventured down to the bottom of the ship. As she made her way down to the very bottom she found water up to her ankles, and Will digging an ever-bigger hole. She pushed him over making him stop. "What are you doing? Do you want to get everyone killed?"

"Helping the Royal Navy is the best thing I can do. When they capture everyone else, they'll see me helping them and they'll have to let me go."

She laughed sadly. "You really have no idea what these people are like, do you? Even on the off chance that they don't hang you along with the rest of us, they'll just keep using you until you go crazy."

He shook his head. "I don't care. It's better than going on with these traitors. You'll all get what you disserve." He went back to widening the hole in the floor.

"I won't let you!" She lunged at him, but he picked up a plank of wood near him and knocked her unconscious.

X+X+X+X+X+X

The crew couldn't figure out why the ship was going so slowly. They were doing everything they could to make it go faster, but everything seemed to do the opposite. "Why isn't this working?" Elizabeth asked mostly to herself. "They've almost reached us."

Their questions were answered when a soaked Will Turner appeared in front of them. He didn't look himself as he passed them all to the back of the ship. They all followed, wondering what was going to happen next. He stood up on the rail, waving his arms above his head to make sure the naval ships saw him. Then he dove into the water. The group watched stunned as the Royal Navy pulled them up onto the ship, giving him a towel to dry himself. Everyone knew what he did.

It took Liz only a moment to realize what else he had done after she had seen her walk to the bottom of the ship. "Where's Lea?" Jack and Barbossa's eyes widened before they ran to the bottom of the ship, each one wanting to get there before the other. They found her lying on a pile of wood, the water level almost reaching her mouth. They ran over to her, Hector sitting behind her so she could lean on him. The two men glared at each other before trying to wake her up. They lightly shook her or called her name.

Elizabeth sat down next to Jack. "Neither of you know how to wake someone up. Being gentle won't help." She got right in her face. "Wake up!" She splashed water in her face, shook her hard, she tried everything but nothing was working. She sat back in the water. Ragetti and Pintel were working hard trying to cover the now-huge hole in the ship. While the rest of the crew worked hard navigating the ship, Elizabeth sat back taking in reality: They were going to get captured yet again.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"William Turner." Will had to look down at the short man, but he stood in submission. "It seems you've finally held up your part of the bargain. Though it's not exactly bringing Jack to me, you did what you could." He took a parchment out of his pocket. "I believe thanks are in order." He walked over to his desk, stamping the paper with his ring. "You are now a free man," he said handing it to him.

Will nodded. "Thank you, sir."

They both looked up hearing a loud bang above them. "Let me go, you bastard!"

"Ah, it seems our guests have arrived. I'll show you to your cabin; there your maid will set you up with new garments for dinner. Our guests will be joining us." He smirked evilly before showing Will out of the room.

"_My_ maid?"

Beckett just kept smiling and showed him which room was his.

Will entered the cabin, which was bigger and better decorated then the one on the other ship. There was a young sitting on his bed, who stood up the instant he walked in. "H-hello, sir. I've laid you wardrobe out."

"Thank you. Um, your name is…"

"M-my name?" Will nodded, smiling a bit. "I'm Lavender. If you would change into these clothes I'll show you to the dining room." She nodded without an answer from him and left the room. Will changed quickly and stepped out of the room. Lavender stood there staring into space with a lock of hair curled around her finger. She didn't notice when he walked out.

"Eh-hem," he coughed to get her attention.

She snapped back into reality. "Uh, yes, right this way, sir."

X+X+X+X+X+X

James sat at the head of the table with Azalea diagonal to him. Gillette sat across from her, a guard next to her, and one standing behind her. The rest of the occupants were mostly guards, with Barbossa, Jack, and Elizabeth scattered. They each had two guards behind them. Finally, Cutler Beckett sat at the other head of the table. There was one empty seat, and everyone knew who it was far.

The moment Will entered the room, Elizabeth shot up. "Traitor!" The two guards behind her pushed her back down.

Will shot an icy glare at both Elizabeth and Jack before turning to thank Lavender and sitting down.

A dozen maids appeared from the kitchen, trays in hand. They set down the main course in front of everyone, obviously feeling that soup and salad were unnecessary. Jack and Barbossa started eating like it was nothing, while Elizabeth took tentative bites. Azalea didn't move.

James placed a hand on Azalea's. "You're not eating."

A shiver went up her spine at her touch. She swallowed. "No, I'm not. I'm not hungry."

"You must be, you've been stuck on that wretched pirate ship."

Azalea didn't speak. She pulled her hand out from under James' and curled it with her other hand in her lap.

Other then James and Azalea, Beckett was the first to speak. "Jack Sparrow." Jack looked up from the drumstick engulfed in his mouth. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you have something I want."

"I hadn't the slightest clue. How interesting, go on." Jack gave him his best smile.

Beckett rolled his eyes before continuing. "It's that fancy little compass you have."

Jack picked up and examined the compass still tied to his belt. "This old thing? It's not a compass, really, it doesn't work. It's more of a…broken compass."

He smiled. "Hmm, I know more than you think."

"Really? How much do you think I think?"

"Enough. Now, if you give it to me without a fight I'll let you go. But, if you don't, I'll get it anyway, and kill you. As well your dearest Liz. I've, of course, allowed Commodore Norrington to decide what he is to do with the other two."

Jack had an N curled on his lips, but Azalea spoke before he could. "Jack, say yes." Jack looked at her as if she was crazy, and then turned to Liz with an apologetic look. "Jack! Just trust me, say yes." Jack was silent. "_Now_."

Jack sighed and turned to Cutler Beckett with a fake smile. "Of course, how could I say no to such an offer?"

Cutler smiled. "Brilliant. After I receive the compass the two of you will be escorted to your cabin." Jack looked over at Azalea expectantly, wondering what she was going to do. She had to get his compass back.

Dinner went by quietly after that, James never mentioned what he was to do with Barbossa or Lea. Lea didn't eat the whole time, she just stared at her hands, looking up at her friends every so often. Dinner soon ended, and everyone besides Norrington, Barbossa, and Azalea left. Well, them and 4 guards.

Norrington nodded at the two guards behind Barbossa, and they pulled him to his feet. "Take him to his cabin, bring more these two as well." He tilted his head towards the to guards behind Azalea. Azalea and James were left in silence.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"This is so horrible, I can't believe this is happening. We're being held captive _again_, and there's no way we're getting away this time. We know nothing will work."

"At least we have a bed this time."

Elizabeth glared at Jack in disgust. "How can you think about that right now? Are you forgetting about your beloved compass?"

"Lea better get that back to me. She probably will, but if she doesn't I'm going to hold it against her whenever I need a favor."

"Oh, you're such a kind brother."

He smiled. "I'm a pirate, luv."

X+X+X+X+X+X

James made sure no one took Azalea's dish away, knowing she had to get hungry eventually. "You must be hungry. I can't imagine you ate anything on that ship."

Azalea picked at the vegetables on her plate, eating one every time it didn't look appealing to smash. "Are you going to let us go?" she finally asked him.

He looked down at her tray, analyzing how much she ate, and if it was enough. He decided it was. "I want you to follow me."

To tired to fight or argue, Azalea just followed him obediently.

Norrington turned to her once they entered his cabin. "I'm going to kiss you, and I don't want you to pull away."

"I kind of assumed that." He looked at her with serious eyes, and she dropped her eyes down to the floor. He took a slow step forward, wrapping an arm around the small of her back. He pulled her towards him and placed a light kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes at the touch, her body involuntarily going light. He held her close as she placed her hands on his neck. She ran her hands down his chest, lightly pushing back. He stared into her eyes waiting for a reaction, and was surprised when she stepped forward again, wrapping her arms around his neck. A small smile curled on his face as he kissed her, finally experiencing the bliss.

**Did anyone expect that? I didn't, I was mad at myself for doing it, but I had to! Enough Sparrabethnessity? Sorry that took so long, by the way, I'm working on 14 other stories + homework. But, this is my 2nd most paid attention to story. Wait, scratch that, 3rd. HA, wait, no, at the moment it's the 1st! Anyway, hope you don't hate me, and you'll show you don't hate me by reviewing. PS, Guh, doesn't the word _reached_ just sound wrong? Like it should be _roach_ or something.**


	8. Chapter 8

**OK, so I must tell you all I'm really exited where this is going. There's gonna be a lot of drama and _someone_ is gonna die. Unless I lied, and I decided no, cause I can never _really_ plan what I'm gonna write. So, maybe someone will die, maybe they won't…don don don! Sorry bout the Sparrabethnessity! I'm trying, but it's not a lot of drama, and no-drama gets annoying to write. Do you want a major conflict in there somewhere? Cause if you do I'll write it in, cause I'm all nice. K, I have just been told I have a writing style, and so now I'm all paranoid about messing it up or something!! Ahh! Oh, and another warning type thing, there's like _no _Sparrabethnessity in this chapter, but I PROMISE, the next couple of chapters will have more. DISCLAIMER'S THE SAME.**

CHAPTER 8

Azalea finally pulled away from James, leaning her head into his chest. He felt tears soak through his shirt and heard her sniffle. He ran his fingers through her hair just like he always used to when she cried. Not that it was that often. No, she never liked to cry around him. Never liked to appear weak around him. He kissed the top of her head and backed away from her. She sniffled again and sat down on the bed.

"This is so complicated. An hour ago I was certain you couldn't break me and Hector apart. Now I'm kissing you while he's in this same ship. Something's wrong with me."

James sat down on the bed next to her, putting a hand on her knee. "No, nothing's wrong with you. You're perfect, OK?" Azalea turned to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. He leaned in and kissed her, enjoying the fact that she didn't pull back. She felt the smile curl on his lips and stood up to face him.

"You're enjoying the fact that I'm deceiving Hector, aren't you?"

"No, of course not. I'm enjoying the fact that I'm finally kissing you."

Azalea clenched her hands in her hair. "I need some air." James nodded and she stepped out of the room to the deck of the ship. When she stepped out she saw Cutler Beckett leaning on the rail. Thinking of what she made Jack do earlier she straightened her hair and pulled the neckline on her nightgown down. She walked up to him with elegant steps and softened her voice. "Good evening, Lord Beckett."

He turned toward her, and after realizing who she was straightened up so he could look down to her. "Good evening, Miss Smith."

She ran a finger softly down his arm. "I was hoping to see you again…I didn't expect it to be so soon, I look awful."

Cutler took her hand. "A person as beautiful and pure as you could never look awful."

She dropped her eyes. "Please…you're making me blush." Beckett failed to notice that when she dropped her eyes she placed them back on the compass dangling loosely from his belt.

"That was the objective," he said, taking a step toward her.

"Lord Beckett, this seems highly unprofessional."

He cupped her face in his hands. "I can't help but to be unprofessional around you." He brought her head up to his for a kiss. She leaned into him, placing her hands on his sides, and more importantly, on the compass. After she untied it from his belt she slid the compass up her leg and tucked it in her underwear.

Unfortunately, that's not what Hector or James saw; they only saw Beckett kiss Azalea, and her responding warmly.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Four guards quickly ran up behind Barbossa, pulling him back roughly. "Permission to leave was _not_ granted. We were given orders to keep you in your cabin." They walked him back, expecting a fight, but instead were pleasantly surprised by his absolute cooperation. They threw him in his cabin where he landed hard on his bed. Anger steamed in his head. He couldn't believe what he saw, but he was sure it happened. He was just as sure that he had to stop it from ever happening again.

X+X+X+X+X+X

James quickly turned away from the sight. He couldn't believe she would kiss another man, right on the same ship he was on! He was even on his way to warn Beckett about the Turner boy; he knew he was up to no good. But no, that slimy Beckett deserved everything he had coming to him.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Of course, William had other things on his mind than revenge on Beckett. Mainly, Lavender, the girl he had grown quite fond to in just a short time. She made Will's bed in his room, while he talked to her, trying to learn more about her. "So, where are you from?"

She looked at him timidly before turning back to the bed she was making. "Um, England. My parents brought me here when I was only an infant."

"Ah. May I ask how old you are now?"

Lavender looked back down at the bed, blushing. "19." She folded the blanket over and stood up straight to face William. "Your bed is done."

"Thank you." He sat down on the bed and watched her as she gathered her belongings. "I hope I can talk to you again."

Lavender's face turned bright red as she nodded and walked out of the room. Will leaned back on his bed and smiled.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea pulled back from Cutler Beckett, doing her best to convince him she enjoyed the kiss. "My I offer you a…tour of the ship, Miss Smith?"

She lightly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I must object. It's getting quite late, and if I don't get my rest I look positively dreadful in the morning."

"I highly doubt it's possible for you to look dreadful." He leaned in to kiss her again, knowing that complimenting her worked the first time. Azalea lowered her head so he couldn't kiss her. He brought his head back up, the smile almost completely gone from his face.

"I really must be going." Cutler nodded as she stepped away from him. As Azalea walked off Cutler turned back towards the water and smiled; girls will do anything if you compliment them.

Azalea snuck down to the lower deck where Barbossa's cabin was, making sure to avoid seeing James. As she got down to his room he saw two guards standing at the door. Using the same skimpafying procedure she used with Cutler, she walked towards the two guards with her hands behind her back. "James has asked me to speak to Barbossa. He hopes I can get some information out of him."

The two guards looked at each other before one spoke. "We don't have orders to let you through."

"I'm giving you the orders, direct from James. Shall I report back to him that you two are disobeying orders?"

They shook their heads. "You don't need to do that, miss. We'll let you in." The two stepped aside and Azalea nodded at them before walking into Barbossa's cabin.

When she stepped inside she found Barbossa pacing by his cot. She walked up to him, and when he tried to kiss her he pushed her back.

"How could you do that?" he demanded.

"What? Kiss you?"

"How could you kiss him?"

She sighed. "You don't understand, I _had_ to get Jack's compass back, he would have killed me if I didn't."

"For Jack? You went behind my back for that rat!" He knocked over a bedside table, causing Azalea to flinch back. He sighed heavily. He hated making Azalea feel bad. Now he was scaring her, he was ruining everything. He walked towards her, pretending to ignore the fact that she stiffened when he neared her. "I'm sorry." He saw tears fall down her face. "I'm really sorry, it's my fault."

She shook her head and looked up at him. "I kissed James too."

He breathed heavily. "What? Why?"

She sniffed, "Because I knew if I opened up to him he'd give me more freedom." She couldn't stand the fact that while she was telling him the truth, a part of her enjoyed kissing James. And maybe she had a different motive for kissing him. "I'm sorry. People seem to trust you when you kiss them." She instantly regretted what she said knowing Hector probably thought he was one of the people she was talking about. She laid a hand on his arm. "Hector, please just listen to me. You have to know that I would never deceive you. Those kisses meant nothing to me. Every kiss with you meant everything. I love you, Hector."

He turned around looking away from her. "Yeah."

She stepped forward, grabbing his arm. "This is all my fault."

He didn't turn around, but at least acknowledged her. "What?"

"Everything that's been happening, it's my fault. If I hadn't gone to get the heart myself, then James would have never seen me. I would have never told him that I was in danger and he would have never come to 'rescue' me. And nothing up to this point would have happened."

He finally turned around to face her. "It's not your fault." He took her hands in his.

Azalea looked down and smiled. He forgave her; at least enough not to blame her. "I have to go, now." He nodded and kissed her head, before she slipped out of his hands. She nodded at the guards before she hurried back to James' cabin.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Elizabeth lay on Jack in their cabin, Elizabeth lacing her fingers in Jack's. "Do you think Will still wants to marry me?"

"I don't know." He sat up a bit. "Do you want to marry him?"

She paused for a moment. "Of course not…I'm just wondering."

"Why would you even want to know?" He sat up all the way and looked at her.

"You don't think I still have feelings for him, do you?" He raised his eyebrows. "Ok, _maybe_ I still have a tiniest feelings for him, but…"

"Right." He lay back on the bed and turned away from Elizabeth.

She leaned over on him. "How do you expect me to feel nothing for him. I almost married him!"

"Goodnight."

Elizabeth groaned and turned off the light, lying down roughly.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea opened the door to her cabin to find James sitting at his desk with his head in one hand and a cup of rum in the other. "Are you OK?"

"Marvelous."

Azalea kneeled down by the desk next him. "What is it?"

James looked down at her. "I have a headache."

She stood up. "You'll have a worse one tomorrow if you keep that up." She took the drink from his hands and started to rub his shoulders. He leaned forward at her touch. "Something else is wrong. What is it?"

"I saw you with Beckett."

Azalea closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her face. "I know I said that I found him attractive earlier, but I was just trying to make you jealous. I think he's a disgusting pig."

"Then why would you kiss him?"

She pulled the compass out from her underwear to show James. "I would have hated myself if I let Jack get off this ship without his compass."

He turned around to look at her. "So you _had_ to kiss him?"

She walked around to the front of his desk so he wouldn't have to crane is neck to look at her. "Well it would have been a bit weird if I just grabbed on his belt. I had to do _something_. James, you know me better than anyone here. I feel nothing towards Beckett but hate."

"And Barbossa?"

She was silent for a moment. "What?"

"Hector Barbossa. Your feelings toward him?"

"Well that's…that's complicated. I…" She sat back on the bed, staring off into space.

"Are they stronger than those towards me?"

She looked at him despite the fact that he was avoiding eye contact. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because I want to know." He looked up at her and their eyes connected. "Honestly."

"Honestly, I don't know."

James got up from his desk and stood in front of the bed Azalea was sitting on. "You told me yourself just moments ago, I know you better than anyone here, probably anyone at all. With that said, how can you say you can't decide between me and a pi—man that's you've known for weeks?"

Azalea was silent. James barely ever got short with her, at least not visibly, and now he was yelling at her. She looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

He sat down next to her and cranked his neck to look at her face. Finally, after failing at that, he lifted her chin up in his hand. He slowly brought her lips to his. She kissed him back, sadly, and she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face. A part of her, probably her safe part, wanted to kiss him. She felt secure with him, and she probably was. Another part of her just put up with the kissing, knowing she couldn't blow her cover, but would much rather be doing anything on earth with Hector. That was probably her more dangerous part. Barbossa was a dangerous man, who led a dangerous life…but she loved him. So she kissed James whether she wanted to or not, and soon she would come up with a plan to get all of her friends off the ship.

X+X+X+X+X+X

With no guards outside his cabin, Will was aloud to roam around the ship freely. He wanted to find Lavender. He didn't know why, but he was drawn to the young woman. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful; she was thin with fair skin, her long, ratted hair had blonde streaks in the brown tangle. She spoke softly and had a passive way about her. Those things had never really been attractive to William, but all of a sudden this maid was the object of his desire.

He heard her voice through the door of a cabin. He was about to knock, when a male's voice joined in. He listened closely.

"…This is only a warning, because I know you're new."

There was a crack in the door, and Will angled himself so he could see through. He saw Lavender standing timidly with Cutler Beckett, who had a sinister grin on his face. "Thank you, Lord Beckett."

He took a step closer to her, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "And, besides, I wouldn't want to lose someone as striking as you from my staff." He placed his hand on her shoulder before sliding it down her arm.

She took a step back. "I really must go." She stepped quickly towards the door, but was stopped by Beckett.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I'm not done with you yet." As he advanced on her she stepped back, closing the space between her and the wall. When Cutler was inches away from her, Will kicked the door in and hurried to hide around the corner. Moments later he heard Lavender scurry out of Cutler's cabin. As she rounded the corner, he stepped out and stopped her.

"Are you OK?"

By that time she had tears falling down her face. She collapsed into Will's arms. He hugged her sympathetically before taking her back to his cabin. He wouldn't let Beckett do anything to her.

X+X+X+X+X+X

James laid Azalea back on the bed softy, keeping his hand behind her neck the whole time. Her tears had vanished by then, and she kept her mind on anything but the person she was kissing. He ran his hands over her body. She took off his jacket, convincing him this was what she wanted. She took off his wig and dropped it on the floor next to her. He reached around to her back and started untying her nightgown. Her heartbeat quickened as he slid the nightgown down her arms. She stopped him just before the fabric went below her chest. "James, wait." She sat up, holding the bodice to her chest.

He sat up as well, apologizing with his eyes. "You're not ready, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rush you."

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm just…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "I think I'm ready."

**OOO, what's gonna happen next? Don, don, don! I'm weird. OK, I promise someone will die. If you can guess who, by who, and why, I will give you a present, only not really. Well…maybe I'll let you…do something, help me decide other stuff or something. I know you're all jumping at the chance, haha, not really. Well, review anyway. Oh, by the way, if you're more of a fan of Jamlea (James/Azalea) I'm working on another story with them. I shall post it soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer's the same. I got no guesses. None of you love me :( Oh well, I suppose you'll just find out anyway. PS, this chapter's gonna be a bit shorter, I really just want to get it out. And I can't upload any documents, so I had to put everything in html mode which took forever. You better all love me for this chapter...and review.**

CHAPTER 9

Azalea lay still in the dark cabin, the only thing covering her body being the thin blanket. James lay asleep beside her, his soft snores ringing in her head. She couldn't believe she'd done what she did. Especially after the man she loved finally forgave her. She was numb the whole time, but James didn't seem to notice. She pulled the sheet around her and stood up from the bed. James stirred, but didn't awake. She sat down at his desk and searched through the drawers. She finally found what she was looking for, and pored herself an oversized glass of rum. She drank it down quickly, ignoring the feeling it sent to her gut. She leaned back in the chair that was twice her size, and she closed her eyes. Hector would hate her. He would never forgive her, not in a million years. She's done too much wrong too many times. Tears fell from her face, soaking through the sheet pulled around her chest. The glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor. This time when James stirred he woke up, a startled look on his face. Azalea opened an eye and saw him staring at her. He saw the tears on her face and gave her a soft look.

"The first time is always emotional. But it's best when you do it with the right person." He smiled.

Azalea couldn't help but smile either, but for a completely different reason. He knew nothing about why she was crying…well, he had the "right person" thing accurate, but they were thinking of two different people. He walked to her, ignoring the glass that lay on the other side of the chair.

He kissed the top of her head. "Come back to bed."

"I just—I have to talk to you about something."

"You can tell me whatever you want when we wake up."

Azalea nodded, taking James' hand and walking back to the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and the two fell asleep.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Will watched as Lavender slept silently. Her chest moved up and down with each breath; the strand of hair that hung over her face moved as she softly blew air out of her mouth. Will stood up from the bed and walked out of the door of his cabin. He wondered for countless minutes, thinking about what he had seen only hours before. Lavender had explained to him earlier that growing up there was a lot of older men around her. They never did anything to her, but they tried. She had always been fidgety around men ever since. Then the situation with Beckett…it was just too much for her. Will was glad she trusted him enough to tell him all of that.

Will made his way across the ship, and almost at dawn he found himself outside of Cutler Beckett's cabin. He let out an angered breath. The fact that he had made a deal with that horrible man made him cringe. The door was still open a crack. Will, mostly out of curiosity, pushed the door open only inches further. The lights were off, but his eyes were adjusted to the darkness so Will could see Beckett sleeping soundly. He inched inside the room. Beckett's snores made him squirm in disgust. As his eyes swept across the room, they stopped suddenly on Beckett's belt, along with his pistol that lay on the bedside table. He picked it up, the weight uncomfortable in his hand. He continued to hold hit anyway, involuntarily pointing it towards Beckett. As his fingers tightened around the trigger, Beckett stirred only moments before his eyes shot open.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Elizabeth shook Jack awake. "Jack." He rolled over, moaning. "Jack, wake up."

He looked at her, groaning, "What?"

"Did you hear that?"

"All I can hear is you chattering in my ear."

"I heard a gunshot."

He was silent. He didn't hear any commotion on the ship, and definitely no other gunshots. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! I woke up because you kick in your sleep, and I heard a gunshot."

Another gunshot suddenly went off. Jack sat up in his bed. It was then he heard the sound of feet stamping and officers yelling. He got up from the bed and walked over to the door, then turned back to Elizabeth. "Stay here." She nodded and Jack stepped out the door. The minute he stepped out he bumped into Norrington, who was rushing to the source of the uproar. "What happened?"

James just glared at first, but remembering that he was the brother of the woman he loved, he tried his best to be civil. "Cutler Beckett has been shot. I'm going to check on his condition." He paused for a moment before taking something out of his pocket. "I believe this belongs to you." He handed the grimy compass to Jack.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He took the compass anyway and followed James to Cutler's cabin. Norrington was able to push past everybody, and Jack was able to follow, until they got inside. There was a man lying on the ground, and a bunch of men around him, trying to revive him. Jack could tell instantly nothing they were doing would help…he knew when people were dead. The question was who. His question was answered just by seeing James' reaction.

"Dear God…" Beckett was dead. Jack heard people mumbling about "one shot" and such, but he paid no attention. Half of the people in the room probably thought it was him, so he backed out of the room, back to his cabin.

X+X+X+X+X+X

There was a knock on Barbossa's door. He walked towards it suspiciously; no one ever knocked on his door, they either came in or yelled through it. With no formal weapon to defend himself, he grabbed a candle holder, and gripped it tightly. Positioning himself so he was ready to attack when the door opened, he finally responded. "Yes?"

"Hector, let me in."

He sighed with relief and threw his "weapon" aside. He opened the door and Azalea instantly fell in to his arms.

"I missed you so much." Hector nodded and kissed the top of her head. She looked up, tears running down her face.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, wiping them away.

"I just." Azalea shook her head, "I missed you." She looked down, more tears streaming from her face. "And I will miss you even more."

He loosed his grip on her, just holding her hands. "What?" Azalea only responded with stifled sobs. "What is it?"

Azalea threw her head into Hector's shirt. Her answer was muffled by the fabric, and soaked with guilt. "You have to go."

He pulled her away from his shirt, holding her shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

She wept. "You have to go, and you can't come back. It's the only way. We'll be docking soon. You have to promise you won't come back for me."

He shook his head. "No…no, I'll come back."

"No! You can't come back, history will just repeat itself, and you'll be hung before long. You, and everyone else have to go, you have to forget about me. I'll find you again." She started to back away towards the door.

Hector grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "No."

Azalea leaned into him, crying. "Please…it's the only way." She stepped back again, sliding out of his arms. She opened the door before turning back to him. "I'll see you again before you leave." The door shut, leaving Hector by himself and his unpleasant thoughts.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"William! What happened to you?"

Lavender ran to the bleeding man, steadying his steps back to his bed. Will held his stomach as he leaned back on the bed. "Beckett won't bother you anymore."

She pushed a cloth against his stomach, and it took a moment for her to realize what he said. "What? What did you do?"

"I didn't plan on it…it just happened."

Lavender backed away. "You…you've killed him, haven't you?"

Will held his bloody hand out toward her. "Lavender, please…"

"I don't—I can't be here right now." She backed further towards the door.

Will sat up, wincing with pain. "Lavender, wait. You have to know I would never hurt you…I did this for you."

"W—why would you think I'd want that?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I wanted to get Beckett back, but not like this."

Lavender took a tentative step forward, her distrust slowly dwindling. "So…what were you planning on doing?"

Will smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I was planning on complaining, and hoping somebody else would do something."

The timid maid let a small giggle escape her. "So…what do you plan on doing now?" She took a few more steps forward.

"Kissing you." Lavender's heartbeat quickened as she waited for the man to embrace her. "Well, just as soon as I stop bleeding."

"Oh, right, sorry." She hurried over to Will, finding everything she could to bandage him up. She hurried out of the room to get a bucket of water to rid them both of blood. And as the two settled into his bed, waiting for what was to come, it occurred to Will that he didn't care what happened to him as long as he had Lavender.

X+X+X+X+X+X

James entered his cabin for what felt like the 100th time that day. He had been in and out non-stop, trying to settle the critical debate of who killed Lord Beckett. Most people suggested—more demanded—that it was Jack Sparrow who had killed him. They claimed he had a motive for doing it; he needed his compass back. And, as much as he despised the man, James knew it wasn't Jack who'd done it, and had no choice but to defend him. That, of course, caused heads to turn and accusations to spill. But he stayed true to what he said; it wasn't like him to change his mind…at least not with the feeble amount of persuasion they were hitting him with. And besides, Jack had trusted Azalea to get his compass back for him—and she did.

But, despite all of the drama surrounding him, James had to admit he was quite a bit relieved. They were nearing Port Royal, where the funeral for Beckett would be held, as well as the temporary detention of Azalea's despicable pirate "friends." They would be sent to Tortuga on a well-guarded ship but, thankfully, Norrington's assistance was not requested. It was obviously a great comfort to know that this trek was the last time he would ever have to see them again. That of course led to drama with Azalea who, he had been to decipher, seemed to have mixed feeling about them leaving. James sat down next to her on the bed, where she sat silently, the only thing moving being her tears. "We'll be to Port Royal in a few days."

She nodded. She forced herself to look into his eyes, finally, smiling. Convincing James that she didn't love Hector—at least not as much as she loved him—was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. But she had to…she had to or he would never let Hector go. "The past few months have just been a bit…" She shook her head at a loss for words.

James nodded as if he understood everything she was going through. "I know. It's been tough. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead and stroking her hair. It was hard for Azalea to believe that she despised this man for doing everything he could to comfort her, but she did. Why couldn't he hate her, why couldn't he find her vile and disgusting, like he did everyone else not in his circle of royal acquaintances? Why couldn't he just let her go?

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Jack, will you please talk to me? Talk to me about what just happened." Jack was silent. Elizabeth sighed. "Talk to me about the bloody weather of you want, just talk to me."

"Why do you still care about Turner?"

"Are you daft? Despite your commitment-free crusades around the world, you have to know, at least fathom how hard it is to forget about someone you almost bloody married!"

"Why are you talking about measuring, luv? I'm talking about _you_."

Elizabeth groaned, dropping her head back. "Not that kind of fathom, you sausage. You have to _understand_ how hard it is to forget someone. Despite how much I thought loved William at one time, I love _you_ now. Only you."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Jack was silent, but Elizabeth was desperate to keep the conversation going. "Wow, the last thing anyone would think about when they thought of Captain Jack Sparrow is his insecurities."

Jack's head shot up. "Take it back, I am not insecure."

"Are too." She smiled teasingly.

Jack shot her a mock glare. "You're in trouble."

Elizabeth's smile widened. "Uh-oh."

X+X+X+X+X+X

The day they docked in Port Royal seemed to fly into view. Azalea didn't get the chance to see Hector again, as she had promised, and the Royal Navy never discovered the identity of Beckett's murderer, as they had vowed.

As the ship docked, no one seemed to notice Will Turner and a lowly maid sneak off the ship. Everybody was too consumed in everybody else. After Beckett's body, along with Commodore Norrington and the most honorable navymen, Azalea, the crew that went to her rescue, and the less venerable guards made their way down the dock. There Azalea was given her chance to say goodbye, as recuested by James. Azalea hugged her brother, tears pouring down her face. She pulled away, wiping away the tears useless, but doing it anyway. Next she turned to her new, soon to be non-existent, friend Elizabeth, also soaked in tears. The two embraced, soft sobs leaking from their lips. The two pulled apart, laughing sadly. Azalea's eyes scanned the now small croud, and near the back she found Barbossa. Their eyes met. His eyes pleaded for her to stay, and her's pleaded for him to leave. Azalea blinked a tear away and their connection broke. Barbossa, along with about 20 other people, turned to board the ship. As this ship sailed further away, it took Azalea every ounce of her being not to jump in the water and chase after the man she loved. It took every ounce of her not to run and never stop.

X+X+X+X+X+X

No words were spoken during the eternity in which they said goodbye. The ship soon became a dot on the ocean. With her face finally free of tears, Azalea had stepped back into James' warm arms. The comfort was artificial, as were her words when she would utter "I love you" a thousand times again. The only real part of her being was the tear that rolled down her cheek and her heart that cried out to Hector Barbossa.

**Dom! I want reviews now more than ever, do your job.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer's the same. **

CHAPTER 10

"Are you sure today's the right day? It's a bit windy, and I think it might rain."

Admiral Norrington sighed, walking over to the woman in white. "Azalea, darling, we've postponed for four years…I can't wait much longer."

She sighed. "I know. I'm just nervous." She turned to James, smiling. "I can't believe it's actually happening."

He walked over to her, taking her hands in his. "Neither can I. It's a dream-come-true." As their eyes locked silence filled them. Their lips met, still giving James rubbery knees after all those years.

"Admiral! You mustn't see the bride before the wedding! It's bad luck."

The couple broke apart instantly, cheeks bright red. "Of course, Governor. My apologies." He turned back to his blushing fiancé. "I'll see you soon, my love." Walking past Governor Swann he shut the door, leaving the two alone.

Swann was given his title back after James and Azalea returned. He and Azalea had become considerably close over the years. "It's a joyous day. Admiral Norrington is a good man."

Azalea smiled to herself. "Yes, he is." A wave of guilt passed through her. This day, a day which people thought of as beautiful and blissful, was the day she would betray Hector more than ever before. Marriage; she may as well be stabbing him in the heart.

Weatherby noticed the devastated look on her face. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Azalea covered herself quickly. "Of course not. I just wish my parents could be here. I mean, what's a wedding when a girl can't have her family?"

He took her hands, smiling kindly. "Your family _is_ here."

She smiled sadly and looked down at her feet. "May I have some time alone?"

"Of course. I'll be back soon to escort you to the ceremony."

She nodded and he was off. Helping James prepare, no doubt. Azalea lay back on her bed; the bed she and James shared. She rolled on to her side, sobbing. She couldn't do this…she had to get away.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Drop the sails!" The dirty crewman rushed to obey the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow's orders. A rain-soaked woman ran up to Jack, a shivering bundle in her arms.

"Jack. They're gaining on us."

"How the hell are they managing to do that?"

"I don't know, but I think you should do something…soon."

"Fine, fine, take the bloody kid, and go to my quarters." He turned to Gibbs. "Check for any leaks, I want this bloody ship at its fastest, and if it's not…I wouldn't want to be you."

"Aye." Gibbs rushed off to his duties.

"And what if it doesn't?"

Jack looked down at his wife, realizing she was still there. "What?"

"What if doesn't go its fastest? What if Barbossa catches up with us?"

"He won't, take Michael and go."

"Fine." She turned around, the tiny boy still in her arms, and made her way to her cabin. As she returned to the cabin she was startled to find Will Turner comforting a very pregnant woman.

"Elizabeth! W-what are you doing here?"

Her jaw dropped as she walked over to her ex-fiancé. "What am _I_ doing here? How did you get on this ship?"

"We came on when you stopped at Tortuga, but Elizabeth you need to help. Lavender's having her baby. Like, right now."

"Bloody hell, now is not the time. Tell it to wait." She scurried into the next room, placing her son into well-padded crib.

"What do you mean? Now is the _only_ time, it's not gonna wait."

"Well we're in a dilemma as well. A dilemma that wouldn't exist if four years ago you knew how to mind your own bloody business."

"You're still on that? Well, let's go back to the source of the problem, shall we? Your tongue in Jack's mouth!"

"Oh, you're one to talk. How many times have you seen Giselle since then? I'm just curious you know."

"Shut up, I'm having a baby!" The loudness of the, until then, quiet girl startled the two into silence. Will was pretty sure he had never seen, or rather heard her raise her voice that much. The two shot each other icy glares before moving on to Lavender. "Thank you," she said quietly, regaining her vastly important composure.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"I really think we should hold back." With the cold wind whipping his face, Bill Turner struggled to stay standing as he confronted his irritable Captain.

"Bootstrap, I've thrown you to the depths once, don't think I'd hesitate to do it again."

"But Captain, they've docked recently, I'm sure they're heavily supplied with artillery. We wouldn't have a chance."

Barbossa turned away from the helm so he could yell at his first-mate directly. "And then what? And then we die, no big waste. We're going to attack them, and we're going to take back what they've stolen." He nodded his head, considering the second option. "Or we die." A cannon boomed and they could hear the splash of water near by. Hector turned back to the helm. "It's about time they stopped running." Taking a swig from his near-empty bottle of rum he turned to his ever-dwindling crew. "Load the cannons!"

"Captain, we're out of ammo. We've been out for a while now."

"Did I ask for your opinion? Load the cannons." The crewman had no choice but to comply with his hopelessly drunk captain. The captain no one thought would last four months let alone four years. Most people said he had gone insane, which is exactly why the crewman didn't want to argue. He loaded the cannons with whatever he could find. "Today…a decision will be made."

Most of his crew couldn't help but laugh. This had to be the 100th time they faced off the Sparrow's crew. Most of the time they lost miserably, Hector still not being able to hold his liquor after all those years—especially the large amounts he consumed. But sometimes they somehow managed to pull ahead and capture the ship. For only a few days of course but they got it. But his crew couldn't criticize his dogged persistence. Some had even suggested that they go after an easier ship first, get some ammo, but he wouldn't listen. He said he didn't want to "waste time." As if he could waste anymore. But wasting time on, as long as it was attacking Jack, didn't faze him anymore. After all, he had nothing to live for after Azalea left. She was probably married now, with dozens of children running at her feet. Norrington didn't deserve her. He deserved to be dead it the mud.

X+X+X+X+X+X

James stood impatiently at the altar, shifting from foot to foot. A huge smile was plastered on his face as he waited for his fiancé to arrive. It disappeared as he saw Governor Swann approach with a look of worry on his face. James swallowed taking slow steps towards him. He leaned in to hear the words he was dreading.

"She's gone." A murmur erupted in the crowd as they watched their Admiral walk frantically, urging back tears. Think raindrops started dropping on their heads as they searched around the property for any sign of her. After hours of looking James was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He collapsed into the wet dirt before sitting up against the wall. As the rain beat down on his face, tears flowed down his cheeks. How could she do this to him? Four years together and she just leaves? His companions had tried to convince his she got cold feet. "Just wait until tomorrow," they'd say. "She'll be back in bed by 5 am." He refused to believe them. Azalea didn't change her mind that easily. No, not when her mind is made up enough to leave her fiancé humiliated on the altar.

With all hope in his mind lost, James trudged back to his house. He told Emily to keep all company away. He couldn't stand to see, or be seen by anyone. As he walked into his room, he noticed a note left on the dresser. It was folded in half, the only visible words being _I'm sorry._ James grunted softly, not able to stop the sad laugh that escaped his mouth. He opened the paper and read further.

_  
I can't imagine my apology does much to ease your mind, but it's honest, I can promise that. I hope you don't think your presence was torture all those years, because that's not the case. I just can't be the person you want me to. If we had gotten married, neither of us would have been truly happy, and we would have to live with it. I couldn't do that to you. I know, I sound like I'm trying to be gracious while I'm really being selfish, but I truthfully do want you to be happy. _

_Azalea_

James threw the letter back down on the dresser, dropping his head in his hands. She was gone, really, truly gone.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea tripped for the 100th time over her mud-soaked gown, further dirtying the rest of it. She cursed the wedding dress, but fabric especially for being so damn tough. She had tired countless times to rip it, but the mix of rain, the fabric, and the four-year rest her muscles had been on, made her attempts useless. Now, in the pitch-black night and the pouring rain, Azalea felt helpless in her little dress. She had hidden until it got dark so she wasn't seen by anyone. She crept along to the docks, and waited eagerly for a ship ready to deport. She finally saw her chance with a navy ship. She hesitated at first, but wasn't sure how long it would be until someone else deported at this time of night, and didn't want to risk it. She jumped on quietly and hid down in the storage. When she tucked herself away comfortably she discovered she was amazingly exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep…and she did.

Waking up, however, was not nearly half the joy as falling asleep. As she opened her eyes she saw a figure looming above her. She held back the urge to scream, only because she didn't want to draw more attention to herself as it was. As her vision cleared she saw it was a young naval officer staring awkwardly down at her. "Hi," she whispered.

"A-aren't you the Admiral's wife?"

Azalea sighed. "You don't get told much, do you?" He just looked down at her, confused. "Listen, you seem like a nice guy, and I'm sure you're very serious about your job, but you can't tell anyone I'm down here."

"W-why?"

"It's a long story."

He smiled. "I do watch down here, you can tell it to me in sections."

"You do _watch_? What are you supposed to be looking for down here?"

"I don't know, I think they just ran out of jobs. But will you?"

Azalea raised her eyebrows. "Will I what?"

The boy sat down to be at eye-level with Azalea, even though he was much taller. "Tell me the story?"

She avoided his question again. "How old are you?"

"I'm 18," he said proudly.

Azalea smiled. He seemed like such a child. "OK, I'll make a deal. You don't tell anyone I'm down here, and I'll tell you my _whole_ story. OK?"

"Sure, that sounds great. So, what's your name, anyway?"

"Azalea Smith. What's yours?"

"Alex. Alex Barbossa."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Barbossa, how many times must I capture your ship before you learn there's no stopping Captain Jack Sparrow?" Hector spit at Jack's feet, unmoved by the large men holding his shoulders mercilessly. "That wasn't very nice. Nor is the fact that you've been trying to catch _my_ ship for…however many years it's been. Now, I have no problem with you, other than that of course. I'd have no problem giving you a job as a chum scrubber if you asked. Especially now that you're out of Lea's life." He took to bold steps toward Hector. "Now I will give you a choice: live or d—" Jack's over-dramatized spiel was interrupted by the sound of a shrieking baby. "What the hell was that?" Jack walked down to his quarters, eyebrows furrowed the entire way. "Elizabeth, Michael hasn't cried like that since he was—" Jacked turned the corner and, to his surprise, found a woman he didn't recognize holding a baby with the man he despised. Along side them was Elizabeth trying not to comment on the adorableness of the baby.

"They snuck on the ship, she hadn't done anything wrong, I had to help her."

"Nothing wrong? She married Turner, that's a pretty big fault. Plus, her baby interrupted my speech."

"You can't blame her for when she has her baby."

"You did."

Elizabeth glared at Will. "I wasn't talking to you, Will." She turned back to Jack. "Just, please let them off somewhere. Don't hurt them."

Jack nodded. The four of them stood quietly for what seemed like an eternity before their silence was interrupted by a splash in the water. Jack ran up to the top deck to see his two biggest crewmen leaning over the edge of the ship. As they heard Jack approach, they turned around. "We're sorry sir, we don't know how this happened."

"He got away?" The two men nodded shamefully. "Bloody hell."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Scores of men were gathered around Admiral Norrington's office. They were preparing plans for Azalea's rescue. Gillette walked to James' desk, where he sat head in hands. "Sir, we've prepared 7 ships to start the search for Miss Smith. Shall we send them off?"

"No." His answer was slurred both from the alcohol he had recently devoured and his hands, which he was trying to speak through.

"No? Why not?"

"She wasn't captured, she left."

"Left you? Why?"

He picked his head up from his hands. "I don't bloody know, why don't you ask her?" His sudden rise in volume got the attention of the whole room. "I want all of you out. There will be no preparations, no rescue attempts, nothing. If she wanted to come back she would. But she's not coming back, is she? It's over, she's gone."

"Sir, how do you know she's dead? For all we know she fell asleep by the beach."

He groaned. "Can you people take anything literally, _gone_ as in she left and she's not going to come back because she doesn't _want_ to. And I don't _want_ you in here, so you shall all be _gone_." Being the first to take the extremely subtle hint, Gillette bowed, and left the room. The rest of the men did the same, and finally James was alone, in peace.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Hello Miss Smith." Alex sat down in front of Azalea in the small area they had set up so they could talk comfortably.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to the tray in his hands.

"I thought you'd be hungry. I was able to grab you a plate of food from the kitchen before I came down here. The chef likes me."

"You haven't told him anything, have you?"

"Of course not. He probably just thinks I wanted to snack at my post. Lots of men do it."

Azalea nodded. "Well, thank you. I haven't eaten in…well, it's been a while, thank you."

Alex nodded proudly. "Anyway, I have exciting news to share. There was a man overboard today."

"That's exciting?"

Alex smiled down at her, as he knew something she didn't. "He said his name is Smith, like you. He said he works for the East India Trading Company. It turns out his ship was attacked and destroyed. They seem to believe his story, but I think he's a pirate. Wouldn't that be some luck? My first mission with the Navy, and we get a pirate."

"Some luck. Alex, this pirate…what does he look like?"

He smiled again, ready to tell his story. "He's a gnarled-looking one, he is. He's got layers and layers of clothes, even in the summer! His hair is awfully tousled, and he's got this great, long beard. It's quite cool looking, actually. It's light brown, even red. Perfectly pirate-like, yes? But you want to know the thing that got me?"

Azalea nodded, desperate for assurance.

"He had this monkey with him. Just this little thing, ya know. But the minute I saw it, I thought 'pirate.'"

Azalea sighed deeply. "Hector."

**Ahh!!! OK, who was expecting that? Everyone?**


	11. Chapter 11

**EHHH, I kinda can't decide what I'm doing now…whatever. If it sucks you know why. **

CHAPTER 11

"Hector." Azalea closed her eyes softly, placing a hand on her face.

"Miss Smith? Are you OK?" Alex gripped her arms to keep her steady. Her eyes fluttered as her body weakened. Alex moved the food to the floor next to him so he could get a better grip on Azalea. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, I just need to lie down." Alex helped her to lie down comfortably before sitting up next to her. "Thanks, I think I just had a dizzy spell."

"It's no problem." Azalea smiled and sat up languidly, leaning against a crate. "So, you know this man?"

"W-um…yes. I mean, I knew him a while ago. Not so much anymore."

"Oh. So…is he a pirate?"

Azalea looked down at her hands. "Yes." She looked back up at Alex. "But you can't tell anyone. Do you promise?"

"Of course. So…how much do you know about pirates?"

Azalea looked back down at her hands, forbidding her eyes to tell her secret. "Not a _whole_ lot. I spent…a bit of time with some pirates. Hector was one of them."

"Is he related to you?"

She looked up at him, remembering his own last name, before looking back down. "No. There are a lot of Smiths out there."

Alex nodded, before leaning in, and with a whisper asked, "Do you know that pirate? Jack Sparrow?"

Azalea sighed; did she know her brother? "I may've heard of him."

Alex sat back up, smiling and nodding. "Yeah. He's infamous. That's where we're going in fact."

"What? To catch Jack?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't that be great? My first mission and we get a pirate."

"Jack? But what about B—Smith?"

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. There are no pirates on this ship." He winked at Azalea. She nodded, smiling at her new friend.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Now, tell me again how the two of you managed to let that drunken idiot out of your hold?"

The two pirates, both towering over Jack, stood timidly, hands clasped and fidgety. "Well, he told me that Kevin was a traitor—"

"But I told him, 'of course I'm not a traitor.' He just laughed. So there we were, trying to convince him we isn't traitors, but he doesn't listen. And in there somewhere he managed to slip away."

Jack sighed, putting his hand to his head to dull the pounding headache. "OK, go…somewhere, I don't care, I just want you out of my sight." The two nodded quickly and scurried off. Jack then turned to Elizabeth. "Now, will you please explain to me why I shouldn't kill young Turner?"

"First, you're not a murderer; I'm sorry, sweetie, you're just not. And second, he has a family now. And despite his wife's…well, poor taste in men, I like her, and you can't kill her husband." She crossed her arms in a huff and stomped away, trusting Jack not to do anything bad. He knew not to disagree with that huff.

So, Jack once again sighed and joined the new parents. He turned to Will, keeping his eyes on the ground and mumbled, "Will, you can stay if you do work." He turned his body to Lavender. "You can stay with Liz and Michael." With that, he walked off to his pirate-duties, glad to be rid of his Turner-duties. He took the wheel of his ship and let the cool wind take him away.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Ah, Mr. Smith, I see you've changed into some dry clothes. Now, are you ready for a tour of the ship?"

Hector smiled civilly, trying to prove to his host's that he was not a pirate. "Of course. This is such a fine ship from the outside; I'm dying to see more of the inside."

"Well, I'm disappointed to say I personally won't be able to give you the full tour, but I know someone who will surely be delighted."

"Sounds great."

Commodore Gillette nodded happily. "Wonderful." He motioned for Hector to follow him and walked down a narrow stairway leading to a poorly lit room with partially soaked boxes everywhere. "Alex." He waited a moment and there was no response. "Alex?" he asked quieter, as if that would be any more help. He turned to Hector, chuckling. "He's probably on a bathroom break. Alex!" The scrawny, barely man came running out the sea of endless boxes, fixing his hat as he approached his higher-up.

"Sorry sir. I was checking over the supplies." Barbossa stared at the boy, seeing his own face in Alex's.

Gillette nodded. "Very good. But now I need you to give Mr. Smith a quick tour of the ship. Now don't bore him with your useless facts, just show him where everything is."

Alex nodded humbly, motioning for Hector to follow him. He started pointing at doors, quickly stating which rooms lay behind which doors. Hector stopped him. "Is this your job?"

"What? Tour guide?" Hector nodded. "No, I watch over the supplies. Gillette doesn't trust me enough for a real job."

"That man doesn't know who to trust." Alex smirked; Hector didn't think Alex knew what he was talking about. "What's your name, boy?"

"Alex."

"No, no, I know that. Your _name_. Not what was given to you, what you've always had."

"Oh, um…Barbossa."

Hector nodded. "I'm guessing it doesn't belong to your mother."

"No, my father. I never knew him."

"I see, well…I'm sure he would've liked you."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"So, a pirate…how's that going?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Surprisingly well. He's great with kids, he just loves Michael. And we agree on most things."

"And when you don't?"

"Well, of course I get my way. Do you think he wants to put sex at risk?"

Lavender giggled. "I guess not." She sighed leaning back, cooing at her baby. "So, you obviously knew William before." Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip. "So…how well did you know him?"

"Well, I almost married him, so pretty well."

"And then you met Jack?"

"I had known Jack. Will and I were having problems and Jack was there. It just worked out that way, and I love Jack now. We never would have been happy together, Will and I. But you two seem happy. I'm glad for you."

Lavender smiled. "Thanks. He's really great. But, you know that. I just—I'm really grateful for him. I don't want to know what my life would have been like if I hadn't met him."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Jack, that was four years ago, you can't still have hard feelings."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You're surprised that I have hard feelings when you got me captured by the Navy, my compass stolen, and nearly got me murdered for the death of Beckett, which, by the way, I entirely know was your doing."

"OK. I don't blame you for that. But doesn't four years do anything?"

"I'm letting you live, aren't I?"

Will's eyes widened. "Right. And I can't thank you enough for that."

Jack glared at him. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, I invented that move." Will raised his eyebrows in question. "You're trying to get on my good side, but it's not going to work. I'm keeping you here for Elizabeth and your wife, not for you. The next place I can dock, you're gone." Jack turned away, pouring himself a glass of rum. "If it weren't for Elizabeth you'd be gone already."

Will smiled to himself. "Women, huh?"

Jack took a swig from his glass and shook his head. "They drive me crazy."

Will walked towards him, pouring Jack another glass, then one for himself. He held up his glass. "Well cheers to children; something to keep them busy."

Jack held up his glass as well. "I'll drink to that." He drank his glass down and slammed it on the desk. "How about two more?"

X+X+X+X+X+X

Alex came back to his post where Azalea sat, waiting impatiently for his return. "So, how'd it go?"

He sat down across from her. "Great!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Great?"

"Yeah. Mr. Smith is a very nice man. It turns out we share a common dislike for Gillette." He chuckled, nudging Azalea playfully.

"Well I'm glad."

"He reminds me so much of you; I bet you two got along great."

Azalea nodded. "Most of the time."

"I didn't show him over here, because I wasn't sure if you wanted to see him. But if you do, I'm sure I could think up an excuse to show him around again."

"Yes."

"Great! I'll go get him." Alex started to stand up.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm and he sat back down.

"What is it? Don't you want to see him?"

"Yes, I just…I'm nervous. I haven't seen him in a long time and, well, that time was spent very differently then I'm sure he would have liked."

"Oh. You being with Admiral Norrington and all?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

He sat up straighter smiling widely. "Oh I didn't, my mother told me."

"Your mother?"

He nodded. "She's a maid in the Admiral's household. She sure does like you."

"Emily?"

"Yeah, that's her. She said you and the Admiral got along magically. I can't imagine why you left."

"It's complicated." Alex perked up, ready another story. "And it's something I don't really want to share."

"Oh." The two sat quietly for a moment before Azalea lurched forward, covering her mouth with her hand. "Miss Smith?"

Azalea pointed frantically at her mouth with one hand and held her stomach with her other.

"Oh!" Alex shot up from his seat and, tripping over dozens of boxes, searched around the room. "Bucket, bucket…bucket!" He grabbed the bucket and stumbled quickly back to Azalea and set the bucket in front of her just in time. She lifted her head back up with a grimace.

"Thanks." She threw her hair behind her shoulders and sat back against a crate. "I've never once gotten seasick. But I guess staying on land for four years does something to you."

"Right. Well, now that that's done, would you like to see Mr. Smith?"

Azalea giggled at his impatience. "Um…yes, I do."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"And you know another thing?" Jack demanded, catching himself from falling back into a glass window. "She always claims I'm too 'rough' with Michael. But what does she expect? I mean, this isn't known as a cushy lifestyle, right?"

"Absolutely. And I don't even want to know how Lavender's gonna be. She's already on me all the time—"

"Well that's evident."

Will snorted tipsily. "No, you didn't let me finish my sentence. What I was _going_ to say is that she's always on me _about_," Jack sighed at the word, "keeping myself out of harms way. Now we've got a kid, she's never gonna stop talking." He took a swig from the rum they were now both drinking directly from the bottles.

"But you know what's wrong with women?"

"Tell me."

"They think they couldn't survive it if they got one little scratch, so they assume we couldn't either."

"Oh do we?"

The to drunken men's attention turned over to the open door where they found Elizabeth, hands on hips, and Lavender close behind doing the same with one hand, but the other holding her small baby. Jack's voice rose about 5 octaves. "Elizabeth."

"I see you and Will are quite 'chummy.' When did that happen?"

Will stepped forward, slurring wildly. "Lemme esplain." He turned to Jack for reassurance. Jack nodded with over-confidence. "Me and Jack are…" his head dropped slowly as he groped for the word, "…bondin." He looked back at Jack whose head continued to nod systematically. "Woodnt you rather want us to me friends then be enmeys?"

"Are you drunk?" Lavender asked stepping out in front of Elizabeth.

Will sucked the air in through his mouth, eyes widening as he tried to spit out an answer. "No."

"I can't believe you! Especially lying right to my face!"

"What massyu think I'm lying?"

Lavender just stood still, mouth agape, unable to believe this was the man she married. She finally turned around, taking Elizabeth's arm. "Let's go." Elizabeth glared at the two men before following her down to her cabin.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Alex scanned the halls of the ship, searching for the wandering pirate. Once he finally spotted him he quickly caught his attention. "Mr. Smith."

"Smith."

"What?"

"Call me Smith. 'Mr.' is too formal, too impersonal."

"OK, Smith. There's someone I want you to meet, Smith. Follow me." The two walked down the endless stairs to the storage room at the bottom of the ship. "She's right over here."

_There are women on this ship?_ Hector thought. He had only ever seen men for almost four years straight, and he was getting pretty bloody tired of it. As he neared the back of the room, struggling not to trip over boxes as his guide did, he became anxious. Had it really been that long since he had been in contact with a woman. I mean, sure he'd seen them, maybe even said a few words to them, but this…this was suddenly _new_ to him. As he neared the hollowed-out circle of boxes he found a woman lying in a griming wedding dress. He got closer, studying her half-hidden face, a sudden sense of familiarity flooded him. Sensing a presence near her she awoke, lifting her head only the slightest bit, and it hit him. He staggered back a step, eyes wide. "Azalea."

**I haven't said nessity in a while…nessity. Pleasereviewnessity.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thankie for reviews! Um…short chapter, sorry.**

CHAPTER 12

"Have you fallen asleep Miss Smith?" Alex chuckled and nudged Barbossa, obviously not noticing the expression on either his or Azalea's face. "She was so nervous before she threw up!"

"H-Hector." Her tired face glowed as she stood up to embrace Hector. She jumped into his arms, holding him tightly, and was surprised to feel his arms barely skim her back. She stepped back from him. "Are you OK?"

Hector turned to Alex. "Can we have a minute?"

He looked at the two like Hector had never asked a question before finally snapping out of it. "Oh, yes, of course. I'll just be…" he started walking away backwards, "over here." He turned around, walking to the other side of the room and planting himself with a book.

Hector turned his attention back to Azalea, who stood bewildered beside him. He looked at her up and down, obviously noticing her dress. "You got married?"

Her eyes widened. "No, of course not. I could never marry him."

"You almost did."

"Hector, I—" She stopped mid-protest knowing she couldn't argue with that statement. "Yes. I almost did. And I hate every part of me that even considered going through with the marriage that night. But I didn't. I left to look for you. And chance is obviously working on my side because here you are."

He took her hand in his. Azalea smiled. "You're still wearing the ring."

She frowned, pulling her hand back. "I figured if worst came to worst I could sell it. Why are you acting like this? Do think I was being selfish all those years ago? I did it for you, for the entire crew. You can't be mad at me for that!"

"I never said I was mad at you."

"You didn't have to. I know you, Hector. Probably better than most. You say you never told me you were mad, but you never said you weren't mad. If you really weren't mad you would have done the easy thing and just said it, knowing I'd believe you. So tell me why you're mad, and if it's because I left, then the selfish one is obviously you."

"I'm not mad at you." Azalea rolled her eyes, turning away. "No," he held her wrists gently, "I'm not mad at you. I haven't seen you in years…I didn't know how to act. I didn't know…I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain, it all seems normal in my head, but when I say it out loud it just—" He was cut off by a pair of warm lips aching for more of him. He complied gratefully, lifting her in the air so she was level with him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him slowly. "I missed you so much."

He could feel her tears streaming down his own neck as she hugged him tight. He tightened his grip in response before gently setting her down. He nodded over to Alex. "Do you think he's been listening to everything?"

Azalea smiled trying to look over his shoulder, but failing miserably. She peaked around his arm to see Alex turn quickly back to his book. Azalea giggled. "I'm pretty sure he has."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"I can't believe this," Lavender sniffed wiping her eyes. "I have never seen him like that. He hardly ever drinks, and when he does never like _that_."

Elizabeth comforted her, softly rubbing her back. "I know, I know. It's Jack's fault, believe it or not. No matter who you are, he can get you drunk. It's like this weird power he has."

Lavender laughed a bit, forcing a smile. "Really?" Elizabeth nodded. "So he was never like this before?"

"Never. You mustn't get upset, there's really nothing else for them to do on the ocean, and you know how easily men get bored."

Lavender nodded. "I suppose your right. But that doesn't mean William isn't going to get reamed by me."

"Oh, of course not. I always encourage a good reaming when your man acts up.

She giggled. "Great. It will be a double date." She began to get up.

Elizabeth stopped her. "No, no, we must wait until tomorrow."

She sat back down. "Why?"

"Because by then they'll have horrible headaches."

"Ooooh. Right, of course."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You've so much to learn."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea sat silently with Alex as they waited for Hector to return from the bathroom. "So, um…M—Smith? You're in love with him?"

"Well yeah. I mean…yeah. Yeah, I am."

He looked down at the floor next to him. "Oh."

"What's the matter?" she asked scooting towards him.

"I just…nothing."

"Nothing?" He nodded. "Are you sure?" She leaned in towards him being jokingly persuasive.

He put his hands up to stop her. "Please. Don't."

She sat back against the crate. "OK…something's the matter."

"No, I just—" He sighed turning to her. "I kinda, well you know…"

"No I don't, you're going to have to be a bit more specific."

He sighed, obviously embarrassed. "I kinda thought we…connected."

Her eyes widened. "Oh." She sighed before looking back up at him smiling maternally. "Please, I'm old enough to be your mum."

"No you're not."

"In a sense…"

"A sense?"

Azalea bit her lip. Should she explain to him that she was in love with his father, who happened to be more than twice her age? She could, but she'd have to get by the "his father" thing. But she didn't want to lie to him. She saw Hector walking back towards them and she stared at him with pleading eyes. "What?" he asked.

"Please tell him."

Hector sighed. "I can't just _tell_ him."

"Well he has to know."

Alex put one finger up. "Excuse me, but I'm assuming the 'him' you're talking about is me, so can you please fill me in on what's happening?"

Azalea turned to Hector expectantly. He sighed again, this time in surrender, and turned to his son. "Alex, right?" Alex nodded. "Yes. Has your mother told you much about your father?"

"She just told me he was dead."

"Did she now? Well, she lied."

"W…" Alex turned to Azalea then back to Hector. "She lied?" He turned back to Azalea who nodded. "S-so who is he?" She raised her eyebrows. He turned to Hector who did the same. "Oh."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Hello William!" Lavender exclaimed in the loudest, highest voice she could. Will groaned slightly, holding his head. "Oh, what's the matter, do you have a headache?" He nodded pathetically. "Well maybe you should have thought about that before you drank endlessly."

Will cringed. "I'm guessing you've talked to Elizabeth."

She brushed off his comment like he hadn't said it. "I am left to spend the whole night caring for our son, who by the way is now named Joseph, and you were just off getting drunk. And you expect me to be sweet and care about your little headache?"

"Joseph?"

"Yes." She clutched her child to her chest. "I found it necessary that he get a name before he begins speaking."

"I love the name Joseph."

Lavender smiled, forgetting that she had just been yelling at him. "You do?"

He smiled, stroking his son's cheek. "Yeah; it fits him."

"I thought so." She rocked her baby and cooed at him, smiling the whole time.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"You're a bad influence on him."

Jack snorted. "Bullocks. He gave me more alcohol, I just accepted it."

Elizabeth put her hands on her hips. "Oh, and I suppose that makes you innocent?"

"No it just makes him less…innocent."

"Oh, very articulate."

"I don't even know what that word means, luv."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I thought not. Listen, you have to be good around Will." She stopped. "What am I saying? That's like telling you to give up the Pearl. Anyway, be _better_ around Will, Lavender isn't used to that kind of behavior."

"Well that's Lavender's bloody fault."

Michael ran up to his father, tugging on his shirt. "Daddy, daddy, you said a bad word."

Jack got down to eye-level with his son. "Bloody isn't a bad word, Michael."

"Mummy says it is."

"She just means you shouldn't say it."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows in a pathetic way. "If it's not bad then why can't I say it?"

"Ask your mother," Jack winked. He got up, kissed Elizabeth on the head and made his way towards the door. "I'm off to the helm."

Elizabeth sighed leaning against Jack's desk.

"Mummy, why can't I say 'bloody?'"

Elizabeth looked down at her son who looked utterly confused. "Um…wouldn't you like some chocolate?"

"Yes!"

"Good boy." Elizabeth led Michael out of the room; the conversation could wait.

**Like I said, short chapter, but I felt it was taking too long. Next one will be longer, I promise.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Alan Rickman said "shut up" in the Prince of Thieves, Azalea can say shut up too. Humph. OK, there is going to be a bit of Norriness in this chapter, if you want him gone for good, then tell me. I'm thinking of giving him an OC. Anyone think that's a horrible idea? Anyone think that's a good idea?**

CHAPTER 13

"Mummy, this chocolate is yummy. Mummy. Mummy. Yummy and mummy sound the same."

Elizabeth bent over with a wet rag in her hand. "Yes Michael, they rhyme." The boy tried to squirm away as his mother scrubbed his mouth down. "Michael, please stand still."

"OK," he said with a _humph_. "When can I have more chocolate?"

"Soon."

"Can I go watch daddy steer the boat?" Michael pleaded.

"Sure—" Michael ran off before she could even finish her word. "But wait for me!" She caught up with her son and grabbed his wrist. "What did I tell you about running off?"

He thought for a moment. "Do it!"

"No. I told you _not_ to do it. Now come on, you can watch daddy steer."

"OK!" He held his mothers hand, skipping along as she walked unenthusiastically.

"Jack," she said when they reached the helm.

"Huh?" Jack grunted in question.

"Michael would like to watch you steer."

Michael jumped up, tugging on his father's shirt. "I really would daddy!"

"I don't know…you don't seem eager enough."

"I am, I am!"

"Alright then lad, if you're goin' to be so convincing." Jack picked up his son and held him on his hip.

"I'm taking a nap." Elizabeth said turning around.

"Bye mummy!"

X+X+X+X+X+X

"So, _you're_ my father."

"Bloody hell boy, you've asked that 20 times. I've had the same answer, aren't you finally catching on?"

Azalea slapped him on the arm. "Hector! He's going through a lot, I'm wouldn't be surprised if he thinks he's dreaming. Be nice."

He rolled his eyes and turned to Alex. "Sorry. And yes."

"H-how did it happen?" Azalea smiled; of _course_ he wanted a story.

"It was a long time ago…as you can probably figure out from your age. Anyway, I was in Port Royal working on a fishing boat. We were docked for a week. I met your mum in town, it was a quick thing, it ended that night. Then I left."

Alex shook his head. "You're lying. My mother wouldn't do that, she's respectable, she wouldn't…"

Azalea comforted him. "I know your mum, she is very respectable. But I'm sure she was a different person then. 18 years is a long time to stay the same. I know I changed a lot in 18 years."

"Of course, you learned to talk, and walk. You were two. But my mother wouldn't do that. He's lying, he's not my father."

"OK, I'm not you're father, I'm lying. What's your brilliant explanation?"

Azalea hit his arm once again. "Hector, shut up!" She turned back to Alex. "It is possible that…that it happened."

"But it didn't! He's lying to me."

"Alex, he has no reason to lie."

"He's a pirate! He's trying to mess with my head."

She sighed. "He's not. He _is_ a pirate, and some of his morals are questionable, but he wouldn't do that just to spite you."

Alex turned to Hector, his eyes red. "Do you promise?"

Hector sighed heavily. "Yes, I promise," he said like a 3-year-old.

Azalea smiled proudly. "Good. Now, off to bed both of you, it's late.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Admiral, you need to wake up."

James pulled the covers over his face. "I need to do nothing."

Emily sighed. "Sir, I know what Miss Smith did was…in poor taste, but you need to get up. You have duties."

He stuck his head up from the blankets. "In poor taste? That's how you would describe it? I know you two were close, but you can't defend what she did."

"I'm not defending what she did. It was inexcusable. But I'm saying that for the sake of everyone else you need to put what she did aside and do your job."

"How dare you tell me to do my job?" he asked with a slight glare.

Emily backed away from the bed. "I didn't mean to defy you sir. I'll be on my way."

James rolled his eyes as she left the room. He lay still for a few minutes before throwing off his covers and standing up. As soon as he stood up his brain started pounding painfully. Perhaps that last drink was a bad idea. He stuck his head out the door. "Emily."

She was on her way down the hall and she turned back to him. "Yes?"

He held a quivering hand to his head. "Could you please get me a warm cloth?"

"Of course sir," she said dryly. She curtsied and continued down the hall, this time with an objective.

James weakly made his way back to his bed, clutching his head in pain. He felt miserable. He needed Azalea. When he closed his eyes he could feel her right there with him, in his arms even. He could hear her soft breath when she slept. He could feel her soft breath and hear silky hair. God it hurt so much thinking about her. Especially knowing that, despite how close she felt, she was probably worlds away.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Smith, my good man, where have you been?"

Hector turned around after he realized it was him Gillette was shouting at. "Oh, uh, just showing myself around."

"Ah, an explorer. Man of my own ways."

_I seriously doubt that,_ Hector thought with a fake smile plastered on his face. "I see. Well, who doesn't like a good adventure?" he asked enthusiastically. This fake-nice business was beginning to make him sick.

Gillette looked around at the smooth wooden walls, as if a clock lie somewhere within it's proximity. "It's quite late. If you feel you've had enough to eat, I would suggest getting some sleep. The morning comes quickly."

"Of course. I was just on my way."

"Good man."

Hector held back the urge to strangle him and continued to smile artificially. "I'll be seeing you then."

Gillette nodded with a smile and walked away.

Hector rolled his eyes once he was gone. "Bloody suck-up." He wandered back to his cabin and collapsed on his bed, begging for morning to come.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Azalea couldn't sleep. For some reason her mind kept drifting back to James. She knew it was normal to feel guilty; she left him at the altar after four years of what he though was love. But it wasn't just that. She had the urge to see him. She had fought the urge up until now, but she couldn't hold back any longer. She closed her eyes and thought of his face. The sad image of him sitting alone at his desk with a wet towel in one hand came to her head. Her heart ached for him. She shook the image out of her head and closed her eyes. She needed to get to sleep or she would go crazy. She was a second away from the sweet sleep when soft footsteps shook her body. She sat up and used all of her power to see in the dark room. But it was useless. There were no windows down there, no help for her to see. The footsteps grew closer and she cowered in fear.

"Azalea?"

The familiar voice calmed her. "Hector? What are you doing down here?"

He got to the floor, crawling towards her voice. "I needed to see you. Or at least hear you."

She giggled reaching out to feel the broad shoulders she had missed so much. Hector ran his hands down her arms to her shoulders. As gracefully as he could in the darkened ship, he brought her lips to his and kissed her more gently than he ever had before. There was no more eagerness, no more impatience. He had waited for years, what would a few more days do? After what seemed like only moments of the nicest kiss Azalea had ever experienced, Hector told her he had to be going. "Morning comes quickly." Azalea nodded and Hector was off. Azalea lay back on the hard wood, wishing what Hector said was really true.

**Oh my god, I was so tired writing part of this I wrote every other word wrong, it took me like 7 tries to spell enough, and I got my stories mixed up and started writing about Ali and Vera and Tori and Max and Brian and Tom. Yes, I'm weird. Also, you know what I realized?!!? I messed up, like badly. I had Gillette talking to Norrie (in chapter 10) but then I also had him on the ship that departed _before_ he talked to Norrie. That was a bit of a mess up, but none of you yelled at me for it, so yay. **


	14. Chapter 14

**I have had "Chapter 14" and nothing else written in this document for weeks. Maybe this little announcement will inspire me to write…**

CHAPTER 14

"Mummy?"

"Yes darling?" Elizabeth asked as she set Michael onto his bed.

"When am I gonna be a pirate like daddy?"

Elizabeth tucked the blanket to his chin. "You _are_ a pirate, sweetie."

"But not like daddy. When will I get to steer the boat?"

"One day, lad."

Elizabeth turned around to see her husband—at least by pirate law—standing in the doorway.

"One day this whole ship will be yours. Me and your mum will be too old to handle it."

"The wheel too?"

Jack smiled kneeling down next to the bed. "Even the wheel."

Michael smiled widely before looking back at his father. "When will you be old?"

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Smith!"

Barbossa stopped mid-stride, groaning at the thought of spending another minute with the arrogant commodore. He got his grimaces out, put on his best faux smile, and faced Gillette.

"Ah!" he said in replacement for the name he had suddenly forgotten. "You! Goodman!"

He was finally saved from his rambling when the oblivious commodore spoke up. "Where are ya headed to?"

"Just taking another look around."

"Ahh. Come have a drink." He turned away without a response from Barbossa.

Hector cursed silently at his unlucky fate, but followed the man into his cabin.

Pouring two drinks, one for himself and one for Hector, he sat on the edge of the desk in what he assumed was a cool way. "So how have you been spending your time? I've seen you hardly at all.

"The people on this ship always seem to know how to entertain."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Alex and Azalea sat bored on the floor tossing a small block of wood, which Alex had tripped over countless times before deciding to sue it for someone else' back and forth. The crates were now set up in such a way that you'd have to go through a maze of boxes before entering a small area with towering walls made of even more crates. Azalea sat against one wall and Alex, another. "Where's Smith?" Alex asked after what felt like hours of silence.

"Alex, his name is Barbossa."

"What?"

"He's your father, remember?"

"Right."

Azalea stood up and sat back down next to him with a smile. "I know it will take some getting used to. But isn't it invigorating to know who he is? And not only that he's out there, but he's here, talking to you."

"Yeah, I guess," Alex said with as little emotion Azalea thought possible when it came to the subject of long-lost fathers.

"Hey, it'll get better." She took the younger boy's hand in hers. He looked up at her smiling, as if that one gesture had cured all of his sadness. "Alex, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, his smile fading a bit.

"You don't really seem to like the idea of Hector being your father. But you two got along so well before. Is there any reason, you know…in particular that suddenly makes you…dislike him?"

He shrugged. "I don't dislike him. I guess I just like him more as a friend than a father."

"Well let me ask you this: have you ever seen him act fatherly…at all?"

Alex smiled. "I guess not."

X+X+X+X+X+X

Elizabeth was hanging up some of the clothes she had washed—something she had started doing after failing to stand the smell of old clothes only a week sailing—when she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. "Jesus balls!" she cried, dropping the basket of wet clothes in her hands.

"Finally starting to talk like a pirate, eh luv?"

"Goodness, Jack, you scared me."

Jack removed his hand from his shoulder and, along with his other hand, wrapped it around her small waist. "That was the point, luv."

"Well it was not funny," Elizabeth removed herself from Jacks grip and began hanging clothing once again.

"Funny as it may not be, I have something that will make up for it," Jack said opening his arms wide. "Follow me luv—nay!" (Elizabeth's eyes widened at this) "Close your eyes, I shall lead you." Jack's arm wrapped around Elizabeth's waist once more, and she closed her eyes and was led to what she assumed (she couldn't see, she could only navigate in her head) was somewhere in Jack's quarters. She was right. When she opened her eyes, however, it looked completely different from how it usually looked. There wasn't an empty, or any kind of rum bottle laying around, and the large dining table, usually strewn with various maps, now displayed a succulent-looking feast that almost made Elizabeth drool at the sight. Replacing the rum were bottles of wine, along with tall, thin glasses.

Finally able to tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight in front of her, Elizabeth turned back to Jack, gaping. "Jack…you did all this…"

"For you? Of course, luv, Captain Jack keeps his woman well treated." Noticing the slight glare in "his woman's" eyes, he quickly stuttered on, "The beautiful, glorious woman who chooses to be with me, is what I of course mean."

"That's what I thought," Elizabeth said, falling lightly onto his chest.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Took you long enough," Azalea said with a smirk as Barbossa entered the dome of crates.

He frowned. "I was finally able to get away from him…"

"Yes, Commodore Gillette can be a bit overbearing," Alex chimed in.

Barbossa turned to him, eyebrows raised. "A bit?

"Well…a lot. But it's not as though I'm used to talking bad about the Commodore. I'm new to this…"

Azalea smiled in an _isn't that cute?_ way. She suddenly lurched forward, drawing the attention of the two men in front of her. "Not again," were the words she was able to get out before grasping her mouth. Alex knew what was happening and quickly to get a bucket and placed it prominently in front of her.

"Miss Smith, you're as white as a ghost," Alex said once Azalea emerged from the bucket.

His father rolled his eyes. "She just vomited. Do you expect her to be peppy?"

"Well I don't know. But I do know I'm never _that_ pale after vomiting. And I used to vomit an awful lot, sea-sickness you know?"

"Azalea's not used to being sea-sick. It's probably new to her. Right?"

Azalea shook her head, taking in deep gulps of air. "I'm…I'm pregnant."

Barbossa's head automatically snapped to Alex.

"Not me!" The boy held his hands up in defense.

"Then who?" Hector demanded.

"James," came a small voice on the floor. The men's attention was turned from their spat, to her. "We didn't get married; I was able to stop that. But we…we…" Her voice drifted off. She couldn't say it.

The older pirate was silent; he obviously knew what she was getting at. The silence was broken suddenly when the young sailor spoke up.

"What did they do?"

Barbossa looked to Azalea then down at his son, quickly trying to decide who could explain it less awkwardly. Seeing as Azalea was in no mood to speak, he sighed. "Well…you see…Jesus boy, you have to know how women get pregnant!"

Alex's eyes widened. "_Oh_." Barbossa was looking at him with his eyebrows raised. "I didn't…" Alex stuttered, "…didn't know t-that was what she was…talking about. But. Oh."

**OK, this is quite short, because, well, my writing has been quite horrid, and I really feel awful for submitting this. And then I also feel awful for waiting so long to submit something this…awful. Wow. Adjectives are not my friends today. Anyway, please review, to either confirm my dreadful (muaha, good adjective) feelings, or to say, "nonsense, that was wonderful." I more expect the first. **


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter might be a tad bit tiny. If so, it's not my fault, it's my brain's.**

**You know brains don't have "a mind of their own" because they don't rebel when we blame things on them. Well, at least we don't remember if they do anyway : D**

CHAPTER 15

A cough. That was the only sound the penetrated Will and Lavender's quiet cabin. Lavender stirred awake, startled by the tiny but sudden noise. "William darling, are you sick?"

Will grunted, half awake. "That wasn't me."

Lavender frowned. She got up quietly, so as not to disturb her husband, and walked over to Joseph's crib (Michael's old crib). She picked him up and rocked him in her arms. "Is that you doing all the coughing?" She walked back over to her bed. "William." Will snorted awake. "William, he feels warm."

"He probably just has too many blankets on him," Will said sleepily, turning back to his pillow.

Lavender rocked Joseph in her arms. "No, I don't think that's it. William, I think he's sick. There has to be a doctor on this ship, hasn't there?"

Will sat up, now fully aware of what his wife was saying and no longer trying to sleep. "No, Lavender, I don't think there is. This is a pirate ship, they don't care much about health."

"They have to care a _little_."

"Yes, well that little bit just goes to them assuming they can fix it themselves. Which they sometimes can, but usually can't. Hence the reason pirates have such short lives." Lavender gasped a little. "Which is completely different from this. Joseph coughed once, he didn't get in a sword fight with a using a badly constructed, horribly aged sword."

Just then, Joseph coughed twice more, which was two more times than Lavender cared to ignore.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Hector, please talk to me!" Azalea was clinging onto Barbossa's arms, trying not to let him leave.

"Why would I want to talk to you? I never liked the blackguard, but this tops everything off."

"Hector please, it was four years, you couldn't expect me to hold him for off that long."

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I may be naught but a humble pirate, but I know how the world works. James Norrington, scum though he is, would not touch you before marriage if it were his choice. It's just how those navy types work. So you must have tried pretty hard to get in bed with him. So tell me, how long did you wait before jumping him?"

Azalea grabbed his arm. "Hector, that's not fair!"

"Get off!" Barbossa, obviously much bigger than Azalea, pushed her frail figure to the floor with ease.

Alex pushed him into a stack of crates. "Don't touch her!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Barbossa pushed him back easily.

"Miss Smith is my good friend, and I will not have a filthy pirate hurt her." He lowered his voice at the last part, remembering his promise to Azalea.

"_Miss Smith_ is a pirate! You don't find it odd that she knows so many? Hell, she's blood with Jack Sparrow."

Alex's eyes widened as he turned to the young woman standing up from the floor. "Is that true?"

Azalea shook her head but then, feeling guilty for lying, nodded. "Alex, I'm sorry, I was going to tell you."

"When? When we docked, and you took off with the riches of the ship?"

"No, it's not like that! I'm not a pirate, I'm just…I don't know, I work with them." Alex glared at her. "Alex, please. Remember the promise you gave me."

"I'm not going to tell anyone about Barbossa," he said. "But I never made any promise about any other pirates."

As if it were an instinct to protect Azalea, Hector reached out his arm and grabbed Alex by his collar.

Alex snapped around to face him. There was anger in his eyes that neither of them had ever seen. "If you take one more step towards me I'll shout, and both of you will be arrested."

Barbossa let go and Alex stormed off. He turned to Azalea. "I knew he was no good."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Jack, we _need _to go to Tia. I really think Joseph is sick."

Tia Dalma's shack was the last place Jack wanted to go. It had nearly been torture when he went to her to retrieve the Pearl. If she hadn't been so damn creepy with all of those crabs walking around, he might not of minded it so much. And then there was that bloody locket she tied around her neck. If not for those things, he might have gone back. But no, he would not go back there. "Elizabeth, darling, I will not go off course." He walked frantically, trying to end the conversation by finding some dangerous task to do.

Elizabeth doggedly kept up. "Jack, you have no bloody course! There is a sick infant on this ship, and if you do nothing about it I will be forced to convene with the crew and lead a mutiny against you!"

Jack groaned, and under his breath uttered, "Bloody woman. Always telling me what to do." He turned back to her quickly. "Fine. We shall go to crazy Tia Dalma's house, and there maybe we can have our souls sucked out."

"Will that quiet you down?" Elizabeth said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing." Elizabeth turned to walk back to the cabin Lavender shared with Will. "I'm going to see how Lavender and the baby are, meanwhile I don't hear you making orders to turn about."

"Of course, darling!" Jack shouted at her as she walked away. "Turn about!" he shouted in no particular direction. "We need to see bloody Tia Dalma."

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Hangman's noose? Are you sure that's entirely appropriate? I mean, she hasn't done anything wrong yet." Alex rushed at Gillette's side, trying to convince him to lighten the charges he was putting on Azalea. He had told Gillette about her in anger, but once the words escaped his lips the anger was gone and replaced with regret.

"Hasn't done anything wrong? The girl's a pirate, and she will be dealt with using no less mercy than any other pirate."

"Well she hasn't exactly looted the place."

"How would you know?" he asked sternly yet obliviously. "You just discovered her today. She could have been here stealing everything I have. You just wait until we outturn her pockets…we'll find fortunes of stolen goods!"

"And if we fail to find her?" Alex asked hopefully.

"I already put Jenson on look-out in case she jumps ship. Otherwise there's nowhere she can hide that I won't find her."

"Right," said Alex unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. Gillette, of course, was oblivious to it.

Gillette wound his way through the maze of boxes, inching towards the open area where Azalea now lived. "Just in here, yes?" He didn't wait for a reply. "The Admiral will be quite pleased with this. After his failed—or rather attempted—marriage, it may lift his spirits to know we've found a pirate."

"And if the pirate's her?" Alex asked under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. She should be right…"

"Bloody hell." Gillette looked at Alex angrily. "Well, where is she?"

It was impossible for Alex to hide the smile on his face, and impossible for anyone to miss it. Still, Gillette saw nothing.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"You'll be staying in my cabin until we dock. From there we'll have to figure out what to do with you, since we can't just walk you off the ship without that soppy git noticing and telling Gillette again."

Azalea sighed. "Don't be so hard on him."

Barbossa rolled his eyes in disbelief. "You mean to tell me he tried to get you hanged, and you're more concerned about how I talk about him?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Barbossa groaned. "But it's less the fact that I feel bad for him—which I only kind of do—than the fact that he's your only son, and you should forgive him!"

"I can forgive someone while still speaking badly of them. In fact, I quite often do. It comes naturally after all these years."

"Really?" Azalea asked. "And what about me?"

"I can't be held accountable for what I say under the influence of rum. And where did you get the idea that I had forgiven you for the last 4 years?"

"I suppose that idea came on by itself," Azalea said sitting down on Hector's bed. She dropped her head in her hands. "I'm sorry," she said through her hands. "Please forgive me. For today. For the last 4 years. For everything." She lifted her head up. "Or at least you can pretend…for now."

Azalea pulled Hector down by his many layers of clothing, and brought his lips to hers. She still didn't tire of the tingling sensation that ran through her body when they got close. As she lay back on the bed, it occurred to her that they could stay like this forever. They could just ignore everyone else. The thought was heaven. That is until there was a knock on the door, followed by an all-too familiar voice instructing that Hector open the door.

**OK, big favor from you all. Let's pretend that the ship that Alex and Gillette and everyone are on left after the whole scene in Norrie's room about Azalea leaving. And they left on his orders. Will you all pretend that? And review: D**


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